甜椒
tián jiāo
In Chinese, capsicum (bell pepper) is 甜椒 (tián jiāo).
甜椒 is the term used for the sweet variety of peppers known as bell peppers. If you are specifically referring to different colored varieties like yellow, orange or red, you can use the term 彩椒.
Meaning: bell pepper (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 甜椒 is composed of 甜, meaning 'sweet' and 椒, meaning 'pepper'.
Which one should you use?
While 甜椒 refers specifically to the sweet bell pepper, you may encounter other terms: 青椒 is the common name for green peppers, which may or may not be sweet. Additionally, 灯笼椒, which literally translates to 'lantern pepper', is another way to refer to bell peppers based on their shape. Note that 胡椒 is used for black or white pepper rather than capsicum.
How do you pronounce it?
tián jiāo
Did you know?
- In Chinese, the word for black pepper 胡椒 contains the character 胡, which historically referred to 'barbarians' or people from the west and north.
- While 甜椒 refers to the sweet vegetable, the word 椒 is also used in the name of the 'Sichuan pepper' 花椒, which is actually a relative of the citrus fruit and not a true pepper.
- The character 椒 is often associated with the 'pepper' family, but in ancient Chinese medicine, different types of 椒 were used as numbing agents rather than for heat.
Examples in context
- 我喜欢在中式菜肴中加入一些青椒。I like to add some capsicum in Chinese dishes.
- 这道菜里有辣椒吗？Does this dish contain capsicum?
- 我喜欢吃甜椒。Wǒ xǐhuān chī tiánjiāo.I like eating bell peppers.
- 冰箱里还有甜椒吗？Bīngxiāng lǐ hái yǒu tiánjiāo ma?Is there any bell pepper left in the fridge?
- 这种甜椒很甜。Zhè zhǒng tiánjiāo hěn tián.This kind of bell pepper is very sweet.
Example conversation
Junjie and Jiayi are cooking dinner together.
- 佳怡 Jiayi俊杰，我们需要买甜椒吗？Jùnjié, wǒmen xūyào mǎi tiánjiāo ma?Junjie, do we need to buy bell peppers?
- 俊杰 Junjie是的，冰箱里没有了。Shì de, bīngxiāng lǐ méiyǒu le.Yes, there are none left in the fridge.
- 佳怡 Jiayi那我买个绿色的甜椒吧。Nà wǒ mǎi gè lǜsè de tiánjiāo ba.Then I will buy a green bell pepper.
- 俊杰 Junjie太好了，谢谢佳怡。Tài hǎole, xièxiè Jiāyí.Great, thank you, Jiayi.
