肉
ròu/ɻoʊ̯⁵¹/
In Chinese, meat is said as 肉 (ròu).
Meaning: animal flesh used as food (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 肉 | ròu | /ɻoʊ̯⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Mainland China, standard, Taiwan, Sinological IPA) /ɻu⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, variant, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 肉 | jio̍k / lio̍k / he̍k / hia̍k | /hiɪk̚⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Sinological IPA, Taipei, Kaohsiung, General Taiwanese) /hiak̚²⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines, Sinological IPA) |
Hokkien |
The word refers to animal flesh used as food. You can use it in various combinations to specify types of meat, such as 牛肉 (niúròu) for beef, 猪肉 (zhūròu) for pork or 烤肉 (kǎoròu) for grilled meat. To refer to meat products, use 肉品 (ròupǐn) and to say 'some meat', use 一些肉 (yīxiē ròu). Other specific preparations include 腊肉 (làròu) for cured meat, 叉烧 (chāshāo) for barbecued pork and 红烧肉 (hóngshāoròu) for braised pork.
Which one should you use?
The term жу (řu) is the specific form used in Dungan. In Hokkien, the word is represented by the form 肉.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the context of Taiwanese cuisine, 卤肉 (lǔròu) refers specifically to braised pork.
How do you pronounce it?
The Hokkien pronunciation is jio̍k / lio̍k / he̍k / hia̍k.
Did you know?
- In many Chinese contexts, simply saying 肉 is often understood as referring specifically to pork, as it is the most common meat.
- The character 肉 is often written as the radical 月 in other words, which looks identical to the character for 'moon'.
- The character 肉 is a pictogram that originally represented the ribs of an animal's torso or a slice of meat.
Examples in context
- 您吃不吃肉？Do you eat meat?This sentence is useful for asking if someone eats meat.Tatoeba #427989 by GlossaMatik, translation #427988 by CM
- 肉价下跌了。The price of meat dropped.This sentence is useful for describing a drop in meat prices.Tatoeba #1783894 by sadhen, translation #281001 by CK
- 湯姆不吃紅肉Tom doesn't eat red meat.This sentence is useful for noting that someone does not eat red meat.Tatoeba #4104419 by andymakespasta, translation #3170652 by CK
- 一块肉 (yī kuài ròu)A piece of meat
- 一片肉 (yī piàn ròu)A slice of meat
- 一份肉 (yī fèn ròu)A serving of meat
- 请推荐一道好吃的肉菜 (qǐng tuījiàn yī dào hǎochī de ròucài)Please recommend a delicious meat dish.
- 69 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding what to cook for dinner.
- 雨婷 Yuting我们今天买肉吗？Wǒmen jīntiān mǎi ròu ma?Are we buying meat today?
- 俊杰 Junjie买吧，我想吃肉。Mǎi ba, wǒ xiǎng chī ròu.Yes, I want to eat meat.
- 雨婷 Yuting你要买猪肉还是牛肉？Nǐ yào mǎi zhūròu háishì niúròu?Do you want to buy pork or beef?
- 俊杰 Junjie牛肉就可以了，雨婷。Niúròu jiù kěyǐ le, Yǔtíng.Beef will be fine, Yuting.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “meat” translations and entries 肉, 肉, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 肉, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
