菜

• 拼音: cài
• 汉字拆解: 菜 = 艹 (plant radical) + 采 (pick, phonetic) — plants picked for eating

含义

Dish; vegetable; food. Refers to cooked dishes or raw vegetables.

Has two main uses: (1) vegetables as ingredients (买菜, to buy groceries/vegetables) and (2) prepared dishes at a meal (这个菜很好吃, this dish is delicious). In restaurants, 点菜 means 'to order food'. Very central to Chinese food culture.

例句

1. 今天的菜很好吃。
2. 妈妈去买菜了。
3. 你想吃什么菜？

用法指南

语境: food, everyday

语气: neutral

正确说法

• 这个菜是谁做的？(Who made this dish?)
• 我们去买菜吧。(Let's go buy groceries.)

错误说法

• 吃菜 to mean eating a meal (吃菜 specifically means eating the dishes/vegetables — use 吃饭 for eating a meal in general)

起源与历史

Composed of 艹 (grass/plant radical) and 采 (to pick, phonetic). The original meaning was 'plants to be picked for eating' — vegetables and edible greens.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal