菜
cài
The English phrase "cai" refers to the Chinese word 菜 (cài), which means a dish of food served as part of a meal.
In a Chinese culinary context, 菜 is used to refer to a specific dish of food or to vegetables in general.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 菜 literally translates to vegetable or dish.
Which one should you use?
While 菜 is the common way to say dish or vegetable, the term 菜肴 (càiyáo) is used when referring to dishes or cuisine in a more formal manner.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is cài.
Did you know?
- In Chinese slang, calling someone a 菜鸟 (càiniǎo), or 'vegetable bird', means they are a complete novice or a 'noob' at a particular skill.
- The character for 菜 contains the 'grass' radical 艹 at the top, reflecting its ancient origins in plucked greenery and herbs.
- The word 菜 is used as a suffix to name entire regional cuisines, such as 川菜 (Chuāncài) for Sichuan cuisine or 粤菜 (Yuècài) for Cantonese cuisine.
Examples in context
- 我鍾意食炒菜。I like to eat stir-fried dishes.
- 这道菜很好吃。Zhè dào cài hěn hǎochī.This dish is delicious.
- 我们要点几个菜？Wǒmen yào diǎn jǐ gè cài?How many dishes should we order?
- 这里有很多特色菜。Zhèlǐ yǒu hěnduō tèsè cài.There are many specialty dishes here.
Example conversation
A couple is deciding what to eat at a restaurant.
- 梓涵 Zihan伟，你想吃什么菜？Wěi, nǐ xiǎng chī shénme cài?Wei, what dishes do you want to eat?
- 伟 Wei我想吃鱼。Wǒ xiǎng chī yú.I want to eat fish.
- 梓涵 Zihan那我们点这道菜吧。Nà wǒmen diǎn zhè dào cài ba.Then let's order this dish.
- 伟 Wei好的，没问题。Hǎo de, méi wèntí.Okay, no problem.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 菜, CC BY-SA 4.0.
