Chinese word

食材

Pronunciation

Pinyinshí cái

Meaning

  • nouningredients

Example

冰箱里还有一些食材。bīng xiāng lǐ hái yǒu yì xiē shí cái

There are still some ingredients left in the refrigerator.

Illustration for 食材 (ingredients)

More examples

菜市场今天的食材很便宜。cài shì chǎng jīn tiān de shí cái hěn pián yi

The ingredients at the market are very cheap today.

Core concept

The food items that become part of a dish, from vegetables and meat to seasonings.

Common phrases

  • 挑选食材tiāo xuǎn shí cái

    choose ingredients

  • 买食材mǎi shí cái

    buy ingredients

  • 做菜用的食材zuò cài yòng de shí cái

    cooking ingredients

Similar words

材料cái liào: Materials used to make something, including cooking ingredients and supplies for crafts.
调料tiáo liào: Seasonings added during cooking to give food flavor or saltiness.
食物shí wù: Food of any kind that people eat, from raw items to prepared dishes.

Definition in Chinese

指用于烹调或直接食用的各种原料，如蔬菜、肉类、海鲜、调料等。zhǐ yòng yú pēng tiáo huò zhí jiē shí yòng de gè zhǒng yuán liào rú shū cài ròu lèi hǎi xiān tiáo liào děng

Word origin

食 (shí, "food") combines with 材 (cái, "material") to present food as the material from which a dish is made.

Usage tips

  • English often uses food for both ingredients and finished meals, but this Chinese noun usually points to the separate items selected before or during cooking.

Other meanings

  • foodnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 食材市场shí cái shì chǎngfood marketnoun

Word lists with this word