菠菜 (bō cài) — spinach | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

spinach

Measure word · 棵

菠菜。
Wǒ mǎi le yì jīn bō cài.
I bought a jin of spinach.
菠菜，。
bō cài Hěn yǒu yíng yǎng, nǐ yīng gāi duō chī.
Spinach is very nutritious; you should eat more.
菠菜。
Zhè dào cài lǐ fàng le bō cài hé jī dàn.
This dish has spinach and eggs in it.

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.

菠bōspinach plant

菜càivegetable

菠 names the plant, and 菜 marks it as a vegetable.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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

艹采菜

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

采

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.

Appears in