菜 Stroke Order — How to Write 菜
菜 is written in 12 strokes, following the standard Chinese stroke order. Start from the radical 艹, then complete the remaining strokes.
Stroke order matters in Chinese: it keeps the character balanced, and it is how dictionaries and handwriting input methods expect a character to be written.
菜 Radical and Character Components
菜 is a phono-semantic compound: 艹 (plant) carries the meaning, while 采 indicates the sound.
Radical: 艹 + 8 more strokes
菜 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- cài
Meanings of 菜 in Chinese
1
cài菜
Vegetable; a dish or food prepared from vegetables.
妈妈去菜市买了好多新鲜的菜。
Mom went to the vegetable market and bought a lot of fresh vegetables.
For consumption, referring to animals (like cattle or sheep) raised specifically for food.
这些菜羊的肉质很鲜美。
The meat of these mutton sheep is very delicious.
Refers specifically to the rapeseed plant (Brassica napus) or rapeseed oil.
我喜欢用菜油炒菜。
I like to cook with rapeseed oil.
Cooked dishes, such as vegetables, fish, meat, and eggs, served with rice or alcohol.
今天晚餐我们点了四菜一汤。
For dinner tonight, we ordered four dishes and one soup.
Slang for being unskilled or performing poorly at something; lame; bad.
他玩这个游戏实在是太菜了！
He's truly awful at this game!
Common Words and Phrases with 菜
1
food market; vegetable market
我每天早上都去菜场买新鲜蔬菜。
I go to the vegetable market every morning to buy fresh vegetables.
2
A list of dishes and beverages available for order in a restaurant.
请给我看看今天的菜单。
Please show me today's menu.
3
A kitchen knife.
妈妈用菜刀把新鲜的蔬菜切成小块，准备做沙拉。
Mom used the kitchen cleaver to cut the fresh vegetables into small pieces, preparing to make a salad.
4
A plot of land for growing vegetables.
奶奶在菜地里种了很多新鲜的蔬菜。
Grandma planted many fresh vegetables in the vegetable garden.
5
Kidney bean; an annual vining herbaceous plant whose long fruits are a common vegetable.
我妈妈在花园里种了一些菜豆，它们长得很好。
My mother planted some common beans in the garden, and they are growing very well.
6
Thick vegetable soup or stew.
妈妈为家人准备了一道香浓的菜羹，大家都吃得很开心。
Mom prepared a fragrant and rich vegetable stew for the family, and everyone ate it happily.
7
a type of snake melon, an annual herbaceous plant whose white-green fruit is eaten as a vegetable
奶奶在她的菜园里种了许多菜瓜，夏天的时候可以做成清爽的凉菜。
Grandma planted many Oriental pickling melons in her vegetable garden; in summer, they can be made into refreshing cold dishes.
8
Rape flower, or a cruciferous vegetable with edible flower stalks.
春天，田野里开满了金黄色的菜花，景色非常美丽。
In spring, the fields are covered with golden rapeseed flowers, creating a beautiful scene.
9
money specifically set aside for buying food, especially non-staple food or dishes; food expenses.
我们家的菜金每个月都会有固定预算，用来购买新鲜的蔬菜和肉类。
Our family has a fixed budget for groceries each month, used to purchase fresh vegetables and meat.
10
Rapeseed dregs or cake remaining after oil extraction, often used as fertilizer.
农夫们将菜枯撒入田中，以提供作物所需的养分，促进生长
Farmers spread rapeseed meal into the fields to provide the necessary nutrients for crops and promote growth.
11
beef cattle
这个农场专门饲养菜牛，为市场提供优质牛肉。
This farm specializes in raising beef cattle to provide high-quality beef to the market.
12
A farmer who grows vegetables
这位老菜农每天天不亮就起床，辛勤地照料着他的菜地。
This old vegetable farmer gets up before dawn every day, diligently tending to his vegetable plot.
13
A vegetable garden or a plot of land used for growing vegetables.
奶奶在后院的菜圃里忙碌，采摘着新鲜的瓜果
Grandma was busy in the vegetable patch in the backyard, harvesting fresh gourds and fruits.
14
A menu listing dishes and prices, or a cookbook detailing recipes and cooking methods.
我喜欢尝试新菜，所以经常会查阅不同的菜谱来学习新的烹饪方法。
I enjoy trying new dishes, so I often consult different cookbooks to learn new cooking methods.
15
A vegetable bed.
奶奶在后院的菜畦里种满了新鲜的蔬菜。
Grandma planted the vegetable patch in the backyard full of fresh vegetables.
More words with 菜
- bái白cài菜Chinese cabbage.
- chǎo炒cài菜stir-fry
- fàn饭cài菜meal; food/dishes
- qīng青cài菜green vegetables, leafy greens
- bō菠cài菜spinach
- diǎn点cài菜to order dishes in a restaurant
- gān干cài菜Dried vegetable
- jì荠cài菜Shepherd's purse
- jiè芥cài菜mustard green
- jiǔ韭cài菜Chinese chives, garlic chives
- liáng凉cài菜a cold dish
- pào泡cài菜kimchi, pickled vegetables
- sù素cài菜Vegetarian dish, Vegetarian food
- xián咸cài菜Pickled or salted vegetables.
- yě野cài菜wild vegetables
- fà发cài菜Fat choy, black moss
- hǎi海cài菜Edible seaweed
- huā花cài菜cauliflower
- hūn荤cài菜Dishes containing meat.
- jí蕺cài菜Fish mint, Houttuynia cordata
Idioms with 菜
- kǎn砍guā瓜qiè切cài菜to do something with great ease
- kān看cài菜chī吃fàn饭adapt to circumstances
- kàn看rén人xià下cài菜tailor approach to the person
- miàn面yǒu有cài菜sè色to look emaciated from hunger
- rè热guō锅chǎo炒cài菜make use of existing favorable conditions
- xiǎo小cài菜yī一dié碟A piece of cake
- yáng羊tà踏cài菜yuán园vegetarian occasionally eats meat
- yǎo咬dé得cài菜gēn根endure hardship and live frugally
- cài菜shū蔬zhī之sè色a pallid, sallow, or emaciated complexion
- cǎo草fù腹cài菜cháng肠a person of no talent or learning
- kāng糠cài菜bàn半nián年liáng粮subsist on chaff and vegetables for half a year
- lòu漏jī齑dā搭cài菜slow, inefficient, indecisive, or overly meticulous
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Open the tool →Questions about 菜
What does 菜 mean in Chinese?
菜 (cài) means “Vegetable” in Chinese.
How do you pronounce 菜?
菜 is pronounced cài in Mandarin Chinese.
How many strokes does 菜 have?
菜 has 12 strokes.
How do you write 菜?
菜 is written in 12 strokes, starting from the radical 艹. See the animated stroke order on this page.
What is the radical of 菜?
The radical of 菜 is 艹, and 菜 is a phono-semantic compound.
