How to Say "Vinegar" in Chinese

醋

cù

The English word 'vinegar' is translated into Chinese as 醋 (cù).

醋 is a noun used to refer to the acidic condiment used in cooking and food preservation.

Meaning: condiment (noun)

How do you pronounce it?

cù

In Chinese culture, the word 醋 is often used metaphorically to describe jealousy. If someone says you are 'eating vinegar', 吃醋, they do not mean you are consuming a condiment, but that you are feeling jealous in a romantic context.
The character 醋 contains the radical 酉, which is an ancient pictograph representing a wine jar. This implies that, in Chinese linguistic history, vinegar is fundamentally viewed as a form of aged or fermented liquid stored in vessels.
China has a famous variety called 山西老陈醋 ('Shanxi Aged Vinegar') which is aged for years in clay jars. Unlike Western vinegars, it is dark, thick and often tastes more like balsamic or soy sauce.

我们需要买醋。
We need to buy vinegar.
This sentence expresses the need to purchase vinegar.
Tatoeba #2675087 by Tximist, translation #2673763 by Joseph
用擰檬汁代替醋。
Use lemon juice instead of vinegar.
This sentence suggests a substitution of lemon juice for vinegar.
Tatoeba #10518733 by DaoSeng, translation #2901277 by mervert1

Haoran and Yuting are preparing a salad in the kitchen.

浩然 Haoran

你想在沙拉裡加醋嗎？
Nǐ xiǎng zài shālā lǐ jiā cù ma?
Do you want to add vinegar to the salad?
雨婷 Yuting

好，請幫我倒一點醋。
Hǎo, qǐng bāng wǒ dào yīdiǎn cù.
Yes, please pour a little bit of vinegar for me.
浩然 Haoran

我們家只剩下黑醋了。
Wǒmen jiā zhǐ shèngxià hēi cù le.
We only have balsamic vinegar left at home.
雨婷 Yuting

沒關係，黑醋也很好吃。
Méiguānxì, hēi cù yě hěn hǎochī.
That's fine, balsamic vinegar tastes great too.

Sources

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