---
title: "Caiyao Meaning: 菜肴 (càiyáo) Means “dish”"
description: "菜肴 (traditional 菜餚, càiyáo) means “dish; cooked food”. Hear its tones, see what 菜 and 肴 each mean and a real sentence that uses it."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/caiyao"
published: "2026-10-21"
updated: "2026-11-06"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

[What does it mean in Chinese?](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning)

# What does 菜肴 mean?

猫头鹰māotóuyīngowl

菜肴 càiyáo

## dish; cooked food

## Its characters

1. 菜 cài dish
2. 肴 yáo cooked dish

## In a sentence

桌上摆满了丰盛的菜肴。 The table was covered with sumptuous dishes.

[More about 菜肴](https://mandarinthewild.com/words/%E8%8F%9C%E8%82%B4)

## More words with 菜 or 肴

- [菜单 càidān](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/caidan)
- [蔬菜 shūcài](https://mandarinthewild.com/meaning/shucai)

## Keep 菜肴 for Review

A free account keeps it, and Review brings it back just before you’d forget it.

## Look up another word

## See any word in its sentence

Get a card like this for every word on any page or YouTube subtitle.

[Add to Chrome](https://mandarinthewild.com/go/chrome?from=%2Fmeaning%2Fcaiyao) [Read in the Library](https://mandarinthewild.com/library)

[Every free Chinese tool we make](https://mandarinthewild.com/tools)

[How it compares with Duolingo](https://mandarinthewild.com/compare/duolingo)
