甜椒
tiánjiāo
The English phrase bell pepper is 甜椒 (tiánjiāo) in Chinese. Wiktionary also lists 菜椒 (càijiāo) and 燈籠椒 / 灯笼椒 (dēnglongjiāo).
Meaning: spicy-sweet fruit (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 甜椒 | tiánjiāo |
| 菜椒 | càijiāo |
| 燈籠椒 / 灯笼椒 | dēnglongjiāo |
The term refers to a spicy-sweet fruit.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 甜椒 (tiánjiāo) is composed of 甜 (sweet) and 椒 (pepper).
Which one should you use?
甜椒 (tiánjiāo) specifically refers to the non-spicy varieties, whereas 辣椒 (làjiāo) refers to spicy chili peppers. Additionally, 灯笼椒 (dēnglongjiāo) literally means 'lantern pepper' and is often used to describe larger, bell-shaped varieties.
How do you pronounce it?
tiánjiāo
Did you know?
- In some traditional Chinese medicine contexts, different colors of 甜椒 are categorized as having different 'energies' or temperatures for the body.
- The word 椒 is shared with the name for the Szechuan pepper, although that plant is not a true pepper in the same botanical family as the bell pepper.
- The character 甜 (tián) in 甜椒 (tiánjiāo) describes its taste profile, but in Chinese culinary terms, 'sweetness' is often used to describe a lack of heat rather than actual sugar content.
Examples in context
- 我喜欢在披萨里加入青椒和洋葱。I like adding green peppers and onions to my pizza.
- 请你给我一些彩椒做凉拌沙拉。Please give me some bell peppers for the cold salad.
- 我喜欢吃甜椒。Wǒ xǐhuān chī tiánjiāo.I like eating bell peppers.
- 请买两个红甜椒。Qǐng mǎi liǎng gè hóng tiánjiāo.Please buy two red bell peppers.
- 甜椒里有很多维生素。Tiánjiāo lǐ yǒu hěnduō wéishēngsù.There are many vitamins in bell peppers.
Example conversation
A couple is planning the ingredients for dinner at home.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen浩然，我们需要买甜椒吗？Hàorán, wǒmen xūyào mǎi tiánjiāo ma?Haoran, do we need to buy bell peppers?
- 浩然 Haoran好啊，你想吃什么颜色的？Hǎo a, nǐ xiǎng chī shénme yánsè de?Sure, what color do you want to eat?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen买几个黄色的甜椒吧。Mǎi jǐ gè huángsè de tiánjiāo ba.Let's buy a few yellow bell peppers.
- 浩然 Haoran没问题，我这就去买。Méi wèntí, wǒ zhè jiù qù mǎi.No problem, I will go buy them now.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bell pepper” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
