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芹菜 (qín cài) — celery

Definition

noun
celery
Measure word · 棵

Examples

  • 芹菜。
    Wǒ xǐ huan chī qín cài chǎo ròu piàn.
    I like to eat celery stir-fried with meat slices.
  • 芹菜，。
    Zhè dào qín cài tāng hěn qīng dàn, shì hé xià tiān hē.
    This celery soup is very light, suitable for drinking in summer.
  • 芹菜。
    Mā ma zài cài shì chǎng mǎi le yì bǎ xīn qín cài.
    Mom bought a bunch of fresh celery at the market.

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.

芹qíncelery
菜càivegetable

芹 names the plant and 菜 marks it as a vegetable, giving celery.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
斤
斤jīn芹qín
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

芹 has 艹 on top to show it is a plant, and 斤 below to give the sound.

Open 芹 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
采
采cǎi菜cài
Same sound today

菜 has 艹 (grass/plants) on top and 采 below; the top part shows it is a plant, while 采 gives the sound.

Open 菜 →
Appears in
Vegetables

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