TongTong
Sign in

鲜嫩 (xiān nèn) — fresh and tender (of food, especially vegetables, meat, or fish)

Definition

An adjective for food (meat, fish, vegetables) that is both fresh and tender at once — '鲜' covers freshness, '嫩' covers soft texture. Used to praise a dish's quality, especially seafood and spring greens.

adjective
fresh and tender (of food, especially vegetables, meat, or fish)

Examples

  • 鲜嫩。
    Zhè dào cài de niú ròu fēi cháng xiān nèn.
    The beef in this dish is very fresh and tender.
  • 鲜嫩。
    Chūn tiān de zhú sǔn yòu xiān nèn yòu hǎo chī.
    Spring bamboo shoots are both fresh and tender and delicious.
  • 鲜嫩，。
    Zhè ge yú hěn xiān nèn, shì jīn tiān zǎo shàng gāng bǔ de.
    This fish is very fresh and tender — it was caught this morning.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

鲜xiānfresh
嫩nèntender

鲜 means fresh and 嫩 means tender, describing food that is both fresh and tender.

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 鮮; 鲜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
魚魚yúfish
Sound part声符shēngfú
羴
羴shān鮮xiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 鮮 pairs 魚 (fish) with 羴, which gives the sound; this note is about 鮮, not 鲜.

Open 鲜 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 嫩 →
Appears in
Flavors & SeasoningsFood (General)

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.