麦片
màipiàn
In Chinese, cereal is called 麦片 (màipiàn).
While 麦片 literally refers to wheat flakes, it is the standard term used for various types of breakfast cereal, including oats and cornflakes. You can use the measure word 碗 to indicate a bowl of cereal.
Meaning: grains of such a grass (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 麦片 is composed of 麦 (mài), meaning wheat and 片 (piàn), meaning slice or flake.
How do you pronounce it?
màipiàn
Did you know?
- The term 麦片 is often associated with health food or quick breakfasts in modern Chinese urban culture, whereas traditional grains were historically seen as staple staples rather than 'snacks' or 'cereal'.
- The character 麦 (mài) is a linguistic chameleon that can represent 'wheat', 'barley', or 'oats' depending on the context of the sentence.
- The word 片 (piàn) in 麦片 is a classifier that can also be used for things like 'slices' of meat or 'chips' of wood, emphasizing the physical shape of the food.
Examples in context
- 我想要一碗麦片。I would like a bowl of cereal.
- 我早餐喜欢吃麦片。Wǒ zǎocān xǐhuān chī màipiàn.I like to eat cereal for breakfast.
- 桌子上有一盒麦片。Zhuōzi shàng yǒu yī hé màipiàn.There is a box of cereal on the table.
- 这种麦片很有营养。Zhè zhǒng màipiàn hěn yǒu yíngyǎng.This kind of cereal is very nutritious.
Example conversation
Wei and Yuting are in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
- 伟 Wei雨婷，我们还有麦片吗？Yǔtíng, wǒmen hái yǒu mài piàn ma?Yuting, do we still have any cereal?
- 雨婷 Yuting没了，昨天就吃完了。Méi le, zuótiān jiù chī wán le.No, it was finished yesterday.
- 伟 Wei那我现在去超市买麦片。Nà wǒ xiànzài qù chāoshì mǎi mài piàn.Then I will go to the supermarket to buy cereal now.
- 雨婷 Yuting好的，谢谢你，伟。Hǎo de, xièxiè nǐ, Wěi.Okay, thank you, Wei.
