Skip to content
Kotomora

菜

vegetable, side dish, greens

JLPTN4StatusJōyō · grade 4FrequencyTop 2,000Strokes11

Readings

On'yomi

  • サイ

Kun'yomi

  • な

Nanori

  • よう

Meaning

菜 centers on edible plant matter, especially leafy greens and vegetables, and extends naturally to prepared vegetable dishes served alongside a main meal.

Most common words using 菜

20 of 184
  • 野菜やさい
    N5

    vegetable

  • 菜な

    greens; vegetables

  • 惣菜そうざい

    small dish (served as a part of an ordinary household meal); side dish

  • 白菜はくさい
    N1

    napa cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis); nappa cabbage; Chinese cabbage

  • 山菜さんさい

    edible wild plants

  • 若菜わかな

    young greens; young herbs

  • 香菜シャンツァイ

    coriander (Coriandrum sativum); cilantro; dhania; Chinese parsley

  • 菜園さいえん

    vegetable garden

  • 菜の花なのはな

    rape blossoms; rapeseed flowers

  • 菜食さいしょく
    N1

    vegetable diet

  • 小松菜こまつな

    Japanese mustard spinach (Brassica rapa var. perviridis)

  • 雪花菜おから

    okara; soy pulp; tofu dregs; edible pulp separated from soybean milk in the production of tofu

  • 前菜ぜんさい

    hors d'oeuvre; appetizer; appetiser; starter

  • 高菜たかな

    leaf mustard (Brassica juncea var. integrifolia); mustard greens

  • 根菜こんさい

    root vegetable

  • 水菜みずな

    mizuna (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica); potherb mustard

  • 搾菜ザーサイ

    Szechuan pickles; Sichuan vegetables; zha cai; pickled mustard plant stem

  • 青菜あおな

    greens

  • 油菜あぶらな

    rape (seed oil plant, Brassica campestris)

  • 菜箸さいばし

    long chopsticks (for cooking, serving, etc.)

Explore all words using 菜 →

Study

Etymology

菜 combines the grass/plant radical 艹 with 采, which likely contributes the sound and originally depicted a hand picking from a tree, reinforcing the idea of harvesting edible plants.

Meaning mnemonic

The grass radical 艹 sits above 采, which looks like a hand picking from a tree. Picture gathering leafy greens from a plant: 菜 is a vegetable.

Reading mnemonic

For サイ, imagine a sigh of satisfaction after eating a fresh side dish: sigh -> サイ, and the greens make you feel content.