Chinese word

菜

Pronunciation

Pinyincài

Meaning

  • noundish

Example

今天晚上你做什么菜？jīn tiān wǎn shàng nǐ zuò shén me cài

What dish are you making tonight?

Illustration for 菜 (dish)

More examples

明天我去市场买菜。míng tiān wǒ qù shì chǎng mǎi cài

Tomorrow I will go to the market to buy vegetables.

Core concept

Food that moves from the garden or kitchen onto the table as one part of a meal.

Common phrases

  • 买菜mǎi cài

    buy vegetables

  • 做菜zuò cài

    cook a dish

  • 点菜diǎn cài

    order dishes

Similar words

蔬菜shū cài: Edible plants grown in fields or gardens.
饭fàn: Cooked rice, or a meal centered on cooked rice.
肉ròu: The edible flesh of an animal.

Definition in Chinese

指在餐桌上作为一道或数道供人食用的烹调品，也可泛指蔬菜或菜肴的总称。zhǐ zài cān zhuō shàng zuò wéi yí dào huò shù dào gōng rén shí yòng de pēng tiáo pǐn yě kě fàn zhǐ shū cài huò cài yáo de zǒng chēng

Word origin

The character 菜 (cài, "vegetable or dish") uses 艹 (cǎo, "grass") to signal a plant-related meaning and 采 (cǎi, "sound cue") to suggest its pronunciation.

Usage tips

  • In English, dish often refers to prepared food, while vegetable usually names plant food; Chinese uses one everyday word across this boundary, so the meal context matters.

Other meanings

  • vegetablenoun
  • side dishnoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word