五香 (wǔ xiāng) — five-spice powder (a blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seeds)

Definition

Refers to 'five-spice' seasoning: a Chinese spice blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel. Used both as a noun (the powder itself) and as a flavoring modifier before foods (五香牛肉, 五香豆腐干).

noun
five-spice powder (a blend of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel seeds)

Examples

  • 五香，。
    Zhè dào cài jiā le wǔ xiāng, wèi dào tè bié xiāng.
    This dish has five-spice powder added — it smells especially fragrant.
  • 五香。
    wǔ xiāng Niú ròu shì wǒ zuì xǐ huan de liáng cài zhī yī.
    Five-spice beef is one of my favorite cold dishes.
  • 五香。
    Chāo shì lǐ yǒu mài dài zhuāng de wǔ xiāng.
    The supermarket sells packaged five-spice powder.

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.

五wǔfive
香xiāngfragrant spice

五 means five and 香 means fragrant spices, naming a five-spice blend.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

An older form had a crossed mark between a top bar and a bottom bar. The modern 五 keeps those bars, while the original idea is uncertain.

Open 五 →

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

香's early form paired 黍 (glutinous millet) with 口 (mouth), perhaps showing millet drink being taken in or offered.

Open 香 →

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