陈皮 (chén pí) — dried tangerine or orange peel used in Chinese medicine and cooking

Definition

Sun-dried tangerine/orange peel used both as a cooking spice (in stews, braises) and as a traditional Chinese medicinal herb (aiding digestion, resolving phlegm).

noun
dried tangerine or orange peel used in Chinese medicine and cooking

Examples

  • 陈皮。
    Wǒ zài zhōng yào diàn mǎi le xiē chén pí.
    I bought some dried tangerine peel at the Chinese medicine shop.
  • 陈皮，。
    Dùn ròu de shí hou fàng yì diǎn chén pí, wèi dào gèng hǎo.
    When stewing meat, add a little dried tangerine peel for better flavor.
  • 陈皮。
    chén pí Yǒu huà tán zhǐ ké de gōng xiào.
    Dried tangerine peel has the effect of resolving phlegm and stopping coughs.

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.

陈chénaged
皮pípeel

The 陈 aged quality describes the 皮 peel, naming dried old tangerine peel.

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 陳; 陈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fùmound
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng陳chén
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 陳 pairs 阜 (mound) with 東 as a sound component.

Open 陈 →

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

Open 皮 →

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