Question 1

How do you say fruit and vegetables in Chinese?

Accepted Answer

水果 (shuǐguǒ, fruit) and 蔬菜 (shūcài, vegetable). In everyday speech 菜 (cài) alone means vegetables, and also a dish of food. Many fruit names end in 果 (guǒ), fruit, or 子 (zi), a small thing: 苹果, 橙子, 桃子.

Question 2

Why do so many names start with 西, 番 or 胡?

Accepted Answer

They mark food that came from abroad. 西 (xī) is the west: 西瓜, 西红柿, 西兰花. 番 (fān) is foreign: 番茄. 胡 (hú) was the old name for the peoples to the north and west: 胡萝卜, the carrot, is the radish of the 胡.

Question 3

Is tomato 西红柿 or 番茄?

Accepted Answer

Both. 西红柿 (xīhóngshì, tomato) is more common in the north of China, 番茄 (fānqié, tomato) in the south and in Taiwan, and 番茄 is the word on ketchup, 番茄酱 (fānqiéjiàng).

Question 4

Which fruits come from China?

Accepted Answer

The peach 桃, the lychee 荔枝, the kiwi 猕猴桃 (once sold as the Chinese gooseberry), the jujube 枣, the persimmon 柿子, the loquat 枇杷 and citrus like the mandarin orange 橘子 were all first grown in China.

Question 5

How do you buy fruit in Chinese?

Accepted Answer

Fruit and vegetables are priced by the 斤 (jīn), half a kilo in mainland China: 苹果多少钱一斤？ (Píngguǒ duōshao qián yì jīn?) How much is a jin of apples? Say 我要两斤 (wǒ yào liǎng jīn) for two jin, a kilo.

Question 6

Which fruits are lucky?

Accepted Answer

At New Year people give 橘子 (júzi), mandarin oranges, because 橘 sounds like 吉 (jí), luck. On Christmas Eve, 平安夜 (Píng’ān Yè), friends give apples, because 苹 (píng) sounds like 平安 (píng’ān), safe and well.

Question 7

Can’t hear it?

Accepted Answer

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Fruits and vegetables in Chinese

Everyday fruits

Fruits from China and the tropics

Everyday vegetables

Chinese greens and vegetables

At the market