香草精
xiāngcǎojīng
Vanilla extract in Mandarin is 香草精 (xiāngcǎojīng).
The term refers to the liquid used in cooking.
Meaning: liquid used in cooking (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
香草精 is composed of 香草 (xiāngcǎo) meaning 'vanilla' or 'fragrant herb', and 精 (jīng) meaning 'essence' or 'extract'.
How do you pronounce it?
xiāngcǎojīng
Did you know?
- In Chinese culture, 香草 (fragrant herbs) is a classical literary metaphor for a person of high moral character or integrity, regardless of the actual plant species.
- The character 精 in 香草精 also means 'spirit' or 'elf'. In a different context, it is the same word used to describe supernatural beings or ghosts.
- If you describe someone as 精灵 (jīnglíng), you are calling them 'elfin' or 'clever', using the same root character found in 香草精.
Examples in context
- 请给我一瓶香草提取物，我要用于烘焙Please give me a bottle of vanilla extract, I want to use it for baking.
- 我需要买一瓶香草精。Wǒ xūyào mǎi yì píng xiāngcǎojīng.I need to buy a bottle of vanilla extract.
- 请在蛋糕里加一点香草精。Qǐng zài dàngāo lǐ jiā yìdiǎn xiāngcǎojīng.Please add a little vanilla extract to the cake.
- 这种香草精的味道很浓。Zhè zhǒng xiāngcǎojīng de wèidào hěn nóng.This vanilla extract has a very strong scent.
Example conversation
Haoran and Xiaowen are baking together in the kitchen.
- 浩然 Haoran晓雯，香草精在哪里？Xiǎowén, xiāng cǎo jīng zài nǎlǐ?Xiaowen, where is the vanilla extract?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen在橱柜的第二层。Zài chúguì de dì èr céng.It's on the second shelf of the cabinet.
- 浩然 Haoran我找到了，谢谢你。Wǒ zhǎodào le, xièxiè nǐ.I found it, thank you.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen别忘了只加几滴。Bié wàngle zhǐ jiā jǐ dī.Don't forget to only add a few drops.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “vanilla extract” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
