炒面
chǎomiàn
炒面 (chǎomiàn) is the Chinese term for chow mein.
炒面 refers to a Westernised Chinese dish consisting of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood.
Meaning: Westernised Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and meat or seafood (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 炒 (chǎo), meaning 'to stir-fry' and 面 (miàn), meaning 'noodles'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
炒面儿 is used in Beijing and northern regions of China.
How do you pronounce it?
chǎomiàn
Did you know?
- In Cantonese, the language of the diaspora that popularized the dish, the phrase is pronounced 'cau mein', which differs significantly from the Mandarin 'chǎo miàn'.
- While the word 面 refers to 'noodles' in this phrase, it is also the general word for 'flour' or 'wheat', as noodles are simply a product of the flour.
- The character 面 is written with a radical that originally related to 'grain', reflecting the ancient importance of wheat cultivation in the Yellow River valley.
Examples in context
- 我爱吃炒面 (wǒ ài chī chǎo miàn)I love eating chow mein!
- 我想吃炒面。Wǒ xiǎng chī chǎomiàn.I want to eat chow mein.
- 这份炒面很好吃。Zhè fèn chǎomiàn hěn hǎochī.This chow mein is delicious.
Example conversation
A couple is deciding what to order for lunch at a small restaurant.
- 佳怡 Jiayi浩然，你饿了吗？Hàorán, nǐ è le ma?Haoran, are you hungry?
- 浩然 Haoran我很饿，我们点炒面吧。Wǒ hěn è, wǒmen diǎn chǎomiàn ba.I'm very hungry, let's order chow mein.
- 佳怡 Jiayi好啊，我也想吃炒面。Hǎo a, wǒ yě xiǎng chī chǎomiàn.Okay, I want to eat chow mein too.
- 浩然 Haoran那我们就点一份吧。Nà wǒmen jiù diǎn yī fèn ba.Then let's just order one portion.
