椰子
yēzi
The Chinese word for coconut is 椰子 (yēzi).
椰子 refers to the fruit of the coco palm.
Meaning: fruit of coco palm (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 椰 (yē), meaning coconut palm and 子 (zi), which is a common noun suffix.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Guangdong, the term 椰子皮 (yē zi pí) is used specifically to refer to the coconut shell or husk. In Taiwan, the term 椰油 (i-iû) is used to refer to coconut oil.
How does it change in a sentence?
If you want to say coconut water, you can add 水 (shuǐ), meaning water, to the word for coconut to form 椰子水.
How do you pronounce it?
yēzi
Did you know?
- In traditional Chinese medicine, the coconut is categorized as having a 'cooling' nature, meaning it is often recommended to balance 'heat' in the body.
- The character 椰 (yē) is actually a phono-semantic compound, where the left side represents 'wood' and the right side provides the sound.
- Chinese has a specific word, 椰林 (yē lín), which refers to a coconut grove, a term frequently used in classical poetry to evoke a sense of tropical paradise or exile.
Examples in context
- 她不喜歡吃椰子味的東西。She does not like to eat coconut-flavored things.The first example shows how to express a dislike for coconut-flavored things using 椰子.Tatoeba #6100187 by xjjAstrus, translation #6106902 by Sethlang
- 倫敦飛往阿姆斯特丹的航班部分動力來自椰子油和巴巴蘇堅果油的混合物。The London to Amsterdam flight was partially powered with a mixture of coconut and babassu nut oil.The second example uses 椰子 in the context of coconut oil used for flight power.Tatoeba #13549559 by LeviHighway, translation #11161182 by Cangarejo
- 请给我一个椰子Please give me a coconut
- 这道菜有新鲜的椰肉This dish has fresh coconut meat
- 我喜欢椰子球I like coconut balls
- 這顆椰子很甜。Zhè kē yézi hěn tián.This coconut is very sweet.
Example conversation
Xiaowen and Zhiqiang are at a fruit market.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen志强，你看這個椰子大不大？Zhìqiáng, nǐ kàn zhège yēzi dà bù dà?Zhiqiang, look, is this coconut big?
- 志强 Zhiqiang挺大的，我們買一個吧。Tǐng dà de, wǒmen mǎi yīgè ba.It's quite big, let's buy one.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen你知道怎麼開椰子嗎？Nǐ zhīdào zěnme kāi yēzi ma?Do you know how to open a coconut?
- 志强 Zhiqiang我知道，回家我來處理。Wǒ zhīdào, huí jiā wǒ lái chǔlǐ.I know, I'll handle it when we get home.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “coconut” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
