枣

• Pinyin: zǎo
• Hanzi breakdown: 枣 = simplified form of 棗 — 木 (tree) with reduplication indicating abundance of fruit

Meaning

Jujube; Chinese date (Ziziphus jujuba). A small, sweet-flavoured red or dark fruit widely consumed fresh, dried, or in traditional medicine and cuisine.

A culturally significant fruit in China, associated with auspiciousness, fertility, and nourishment. 红枣 (red dates/jujubes) are a staple of traditional medicine. Common in 汤 (soups), 粥 (porridge), 糕点 (pastries). 枣红 (jujube-red, a deep brownish-red colour). Idiom: 囫囵吞枣 (to swallow jujubes whole — to absorb information without proper comprehension).

Examples

1. 新疆出产的大枣颗粒饱满、色泽红润，是市场上深受消费者喜爱的滋补食品。 The large jujubes produced in Xinjiang are plump and bright red, making them a popular nourishing food among consumers.
2. 母亲每天早晨都会用红枣、枸杞和黑米熬一锅养生粥，坚持了十几年从未中断。 Every morning, my mother cooks a health-boosting porridge with red dates, goji berries, and black rice—she has kept it up for more than a decade without interruption.
3. 民间有句俗话说囫囵吞枣，比喻学习时不求甚解，只追求速度而忽略深度。 There's a saying: 'swallowing a date whole'—it describes studying without really understanding, chasing speed while neglecting depth.

Usage Guide

Context: food, traditional medicine, culture, agriculture

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 她习惯在煲汤时加入几颗红枣和姜片，认为这样既能提鲜又能温补身体。(She habitually adds a few red dates and ginger slices when making soup, believing this both enhances flavour and warms and nourishes the body.)
• 做学问切忌囫囵吞枣，应当逐字逐句地细细推敲，方能真正领会其精髓。(In scholarship one must never swallow things whole without comprehension; one should deliberate word by word and sentence by sentence in order to truly grasp the essence.)

Don't Say

• 枣色的苹果 — while 枣红 is a colour term, 枣色 alone is unusual; specify 枣红色 when describing the characteristic reddish-brown hue

Origin & History

象形字 — the character depicts a thorny tree with hanging fruit; original pictograph of the jujube tree

Cultural Context

Era: Ancient to present

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal