芥菜 (jiè cài) — mustard greens; leaf mustard

Definition

noun
mustard greensleaf mustard
Measure word · 棵

Examples

  • 芥菜。
    Zhè xiē jiè cài hěn xīn xiān.
    These mustard greens are very fresh.
  • 芥菜。
    Mā ma yòng jiè cài zuò le tāng.
    Mom made soup with mustard greens.
  • 芥菜。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì kē jiè cài.
    I bought a head of mustard greens.

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.

芥jièmustard
菜càivegetable

芥菜 joins 芥 (mustard) and 菜 (vegetable) to name a mustard greens plant.

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
艸艸cǎograss, plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
介
介jiè芥⁰jiè
Same sound today

芥 uses 艸 (grass, plant) to show it is a type of plant, with 介 pointing to its sound.

Open 芥 →

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 →

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