About
The character 菜, meaning vegetable or dish, is structured from a plant radical (艹) atop the component 采, which signifies picking or gathering, directly illustrating its original sense as edible plants collected for consumption. This composition points to an early meaning centered on wild greens or vegetables gathered from the fields, a concept which naturally broadened over centuries to encompass cultivated vegetables in general. Its semantic range further extended to denote cooked food or prepared dishes, particularly vegetarian fare, leading to its common compound 青菜 for green vegetables and its role in words like 菜單 for menu. While the character’s form has remained largely consistent, its application has thus shifted from specifying foraged plants to representing the broader categories of vegetable ingredients and the culinary preparations made from them.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我今天买了菜。
妈妈做的菜很好吃。
这道菜太辣了。
我喜欢吃青菜。
中国菜很有名。
他去市场买新鲜蔬菜。
如果你不吃菜，会缺乏维生素。
这家餐厅的招牌菜是烤鸭。