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冷菜 (れいさい) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

冷れい菜さい

れ

い

さ

い

Meanings

1

noun

cold vegetable hors d'oeuvres (Chinese cuisine)

food / cooking

Refers to a cold appetizer dish, typically vegetable-based, served in Chinese cuisine. Often seen on Chinese restaurant menus in Japan.

中ちゅう華か料りょう理り店てんで冷れい菜さいを注ちゅう文もんした。
I ordered a cold vegetable hors d'oeuvre at the Chinese restaurant.

Kanji

冷cool, cold (beer, person), chill
菜vegetable, side dish, greens

Similar words

前ぜん菜さい
前菜 is a general term for appetizers in Western or Japanese cuisine, while 冷菜 specifically refers to cold Chinese-style hors d'oeuvres.

Etymology

Compound of 冷 (cold) and 菜 (vegetable/dish), directly describing a cold vegetable dish. The term is used in Japanese to refer to Chinese-style cold appetizers.