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cài — “vegetables; a dish”

How to write and say the Chinese character (cài), which means vegetables; a dish — with stroke order, audio, its story, and an example sentence. Theme: Food & drink.

Pinyin · 拼音 cài
Meaning · 意思 vegetables; a dish
Strokes · 笔画 11
Radical · 部首 (grass)
Hear it · 听发音
Watch it drawn stroke by stroke →

Stroke order笔顺

菜 is written with 11 strokes, in this order (the red stroke is the one being added):

The story behind it字源小故事

艹 (plant) hints at the meaning, and 采 lends its sound — together they make 菜.

A common word常用词

qīngcài

green veggies

Example sentence例句

duōchīqīngcàishēnhǎo

Eat your greens to stay strong.

This page is part of the free Chinese character explorer from Casey Foundation Chinese School — a Saturday community Chinese school in Narre Warren, Victoria, serving Berwick, Cranbourne, Hallam and families across Melbourne's southeast. New students get a free trial lesson.