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调料 (tiáo liào) — seasoning, condiment, flavoring (ingredients used to enhance the taste of food)

Definition

General word for seasonings and condiments added to food. 作料 is a colloquial synonym for the same idea; 香料 leans toward aromatic spices (and is also used for perfume ingredients).

noun
seasoningcondimentflavoring (ingredients used to enhance the taste of food)
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 调料。
    Zhè píng tiáo liào shì mā ma cóng sì chuān dài lái de.
    This bottle of seasoning was brought by Mom from Sichuan.
  • 调料。
    Tā xǐ huan zài kǎo ròu shàng fàng hěn duō tiáo liào.
    He likes to put a lot of seasoning on grilled meat.
  • 调料。
    Chāo shì lǐ gè zhǒng tiáo liào bǎi mǎn le huò jià.
    All kinds of seasonings fill the shelves in the supermarket.

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.

调tiáoseasoning
料liàomaterials

调 (seasoning) and 料 (materials) mean ingredients that flavor food.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Flavors & Seasonings

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