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菜càidish (of food) (CL:樣|样[yang4],道[dao4],盤|盘[pan2])

HSK 1word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

菜 (cài) means "dish" (of food) and "vegetable" or "greens." It names a prepared dish on the table, as in 这个菜很好吃 (this dish is delicious), a style of food, as in 中国菜 (Chinese food), and the vegetables people buy, as in 买菜 (to buy groceries or vegetables).

What does 菜 mean?

  1. 1.

    dish (of food) (CL:樣|样[yang4],道[dao4],盤|盘[pan2])noun

  2. 2.

    vegetable; greens (CL:棵[ke1])noun

What does the character 菜 mean?

  • 菜dish (of food) (CL:樣|样[yang4],道[dao4],盤|盘[pan2])

How do you use 菜?

买菜 can mean shopping for food in general, not only vegetables.

What are some examples of 菜 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 1

    这个菜很好吃。

    Zhège cài hěn hǎochī.

    This dish is delicious.

  2. HSK 1

    我去超市买菜。

    Wǒ qù chāoshì mǎi cài.

    I'm going to the supermarket to buy groceries.

  3. HSK 1

    你喜欢吃中国菜吗？

    Nǐ xǐhuan chī Zhōngguó cài ma?

    Do you like Chinese food?

How is 菜 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    今天晚上吃什么？

    Jīntiān wǎnshang chī shénme?

    What are we eating tonight?

  2. Speaker B:

    我做了两道菜。

    Wǒ zuò le liǎng dào cài.

    I made two dishes.

  3. Speaker A:

    真香！有鱼吗？

    Zhēn xiāng! Yǒu yú ma?

    Smells great! Is there fish?

  4. Speaker B:

    有，还有一个青菜。

    Yǒu, hái yǒu yí ge qīngcài.

    Yes, and a green vegetable too.

What should you learn next?

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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.