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チンゲン菜 (チンゲンサイ) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

チンゲンサイ

チ

ン

ゲ

ン

サ

イ

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

noun

bok choy; pak choi

usually written using kana alone

Refers to Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis, especially cultivars with green stalks. Common in Japanese cooking.

from Chinese qīnggěngcài

今日きょうの味み噌そ汁しるにはチンゲン菜さいが入はいっている。
Today's miso soup has bok choy in it.

チンゲン菜さいをさっと炒いためて、塩しおで味あじ付つけした。

I quickly stir-fried the bok choy and seasoned it with salt.

Written forms

チンゲン菜さい
Common hybrid spelling with katakana for the Chinese-derived part and kanji for 菜.
青梗菜ちんげんさい
Kanji spelling; rarely used in practice. The reading チンゲンサイ is a phonetic adaptation of the Chinese name.

Kanji

青blue, green
梗for the most part, close up, flower stem
菜vegetable, side dish, greens

Similar words

白はく菜さい
白菜 is napa cabbage, a different vegetable with a more elongated shape and paler color, while チンゲン菜 is bok choy with distinct green stalks and spoon-shaped leaves.

Etymology

From Chinese 青梗菜 (qīnggěngcài), meaning 'green-stalk vegetable'. The Japanese reading チンゲンサイ is a phonetic approximation of the Chinese pronunciation.