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佐料 (zuǒ liào) — condiment, seasoning

Definition

佐料 (zuǒliào) means 'seasoning' — general term for flavorings added to a dish. More inclusive than 调料, which often refers to sauces and condiments as accompaniments.

noun
condimentseasoning

Examples

  • 佐料。
    Zuò zhè dào cài xū yào jiā yì xiē zuǒ liào.
    You need to add some seasoning to make this dish.
  • 佐料，。
    Zhè ge tāng de zuǒ liào yǒu diǎn duō, tài xián le.
    There's a bit too much seasoning in this soup; it's too salty.
  • 佐料，？
    Chāo shì lǐ mài gè zhǒng bù tóng de zuǒ liào, nǐ mǎi nǎ zhǒng?
    The supermarket sells all kinds of different seasonings. Which kind are you buying?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

佐zuǒassisting
料liàomaterial

佐 “assisting” + 料 “material” = material that assists cooking.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
左
左zuǒ佐zuǒ
Same sound today

佐 combines 亻, a person, with 左, which provides the sound zuǒ.

Open 佐 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

料 combines 米 (rice) with 斗 (a dipper), showing rice being measured or gauged.

Open 料 →
Appears in
Flavors & Seasonings

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