酱油
jiàngyóu
Soy sauce in Chinese is 酱油 (jiàngyóu).
酱油 is a noun used to refer to the condiment and ingredient made from fermented soybeans.
Meaning: a condiment and ingredient made from fermented soybeans (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 酱 (jiàng), meaning sauce or paste and 油 (yóu), meaning oil or liquid.
Which one should you use?
While 酱油 is the general term for soy sauce, Chinese speakers distinguish between types: 生抽 (shēngchōu) refers to light soy sauce, which is thinner and saltier, while 老抽 (lǎochōu) refers to dark soy sauce, which is thicker and used primarily for color.
How do you pronounce it?
jiàngyóu
Did you know?
- In modern Chinese slang, 酱油 is used as a verb meaning to be a bystander or to 'just be there' without contributing to a conversation.
- The word 酱 (jiàng) is the ancestor of several other Asian words for fermented pastes, reflecting ancient trade routes between China and its neighbors.
- In some Chinese dialects, such as Cantonese, you might hear the term 豉油 (sǐyóu) instead of 酱油 (jiàngyóu) to refer to the same condiment.
Examples in context
- 把米饭和鸡蛋及酱油混一下。Mix the rice and eggs with soy sauce.This sentence shows how to use 酱油 when mixing ingredients like rice and eggs.Tatoeba #839822 by fucongcong, translation #7772310 by sharris123
- 服务员，请给我一碟酱油。Waiter, please bring me a dish of soy sauce.
- 你知道酱油对炒饭的味道有多重要吗？Do you know how important soy sauce is for the flavor of fried rice?
- 我觉得这道菜需要加点豉油才够味。I think this dish needs a bit of soy sauce to enhance the flavor.
- 这个饺子蘸点酱多好吃啊！These dumplings taste so delicious when dipped in soy sauce!
- 我想买一瓶酱油。Wǒ xiǎng mǎi yī píng jiàngyóu.I want to buy a bottle of soy sauce.
- 这个菜里酱油放多了。Zhège cài lǐ jiàngyóu fàng duō le.There is too much soy sauce in this dish.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At a grocery store, Wei is helping Yuting shop.
- 雨婷 Yuting我们要买酱油吗？Wǒmen yào mǎi jiàngyóu ma?Do we need to buy soy sauce?
- 伟 Wei是的，家里没有了。Shì de, jiālǐ méiyǒu le.Yes, we have run out at home.
- 雨婷 Yuting那我们拿这一瓶吧。Nà wǒmen ná zhè yī píng ba.Then let's take this bottle.
- 伟 Wei好的，雨婷。Hǎo de, Yǔtíng.Okay, Yuting.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
