醬 / 酱
jiàng
In Chinese, 'sauce' can be translated in several ways. The default form is 醬 / 酱 (jiàng). Wiktionary also lists 汁 (zhī) and 醬汁 / 酱汁 (jiàngzhī).
Meaning: liquid condiment (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 醬 / 酱 | jiàng |
| 汁 | zhī |
| 醬汁 / 酱汁 | jiàngzhī |
| 沙司 | shāsī |
Common specific condiments include 酱油 (soy sauce), 辣酱 (hot sauce) and 蚝油 (oyster sauce). In a culinary context, you may encounter the phrase 收汁, which means to thicken a sauce by reducing a liquid through boiling.
What does it mean word for word?
The compound 醬汁 / 酱汁 is a combination of 醬, which refers to a paste or thick sauce and 汁, which refers to a liquid.
Which one should you use?
醬 / 酱 typically refers to thicker, paste-like condiments such as bean paste or soy sauce paste. 醬汁 / 酱汁 acts as a general term for various types of sauce.
How do you pronounce it?
jiàng
Did you know?
- In modern digital slang, the sound of 醬 is sometimes used as a contraction of the phrase 這樣, meaning 'like this' or 'this way'.
- Traditional Chinese sauces often rely on the fermentation of soybeans, making 醬 a category that encompasses both salt and condiments.
Examples in context
- 這鍋滷肉還太稀，再煮十分鐘收汁一下，味道才會巴在肉上。This braised pork is still too watery. Cook it for another ten minutes to thicken the sauce, so the flavor sticks to the meat.This example shows how to use 汁 in the context of thickening a liquid during cooking.Tatoeba #13533740 by LeviHighway, translation #13535393 by LeviHighway
- 兩名女子揮舞著巨大的鍋鏟，不停地翻炒著盛滿咖哩醬汁的牛肉絲。Two women wielding giant spatulas continuously stir a brimming wok of shredded beef simmering in curry sauce.This sentence uses 汁 to describe beef simmering in a curry sauce.Tatoeba #13552269 by LeviHighway, translation #11585864 by Cangarejo
- 他的衬衫被酱汁弄脏了。His shirt was stained with sauce.This sentence uses 汁 to describe a shirt being stained by sauce.Tatoeba #787380 by fucongcong, translation #285342 by CK
- 请给我一些酱油。Please give me some soy sauce.
- 我喜欢加辣酱。I like to add hot sauce.
- 请帮我做一个加蚝油的菜。Please make a dish with oyster sauce for me.
- 你有什么特别的酱汁推荐吗？Do you have any special sauce recommendations?
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sauce” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 汁, 沙司, 醬, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
