菜 (cài) is a Chinese character meaning “vegetable”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 采 (to pick; to gather (a hand 爫 over a tree 木)), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “vegetable; dish”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 采
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字「菜，艸之可食者。从艸采聲」；现代字形拆分 ⿱艹采，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「艹」，笔画 3–10 与「采」逐笔对应（3+8=11 画）
Memory aid
Under the grass top 艹 is 采 (to pick): plants you pick to eat are vegetables. 采 cǎi is also the sound clue for cài.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 炒菜chǎo càito stir-fry dishes; a stir-fried dish菜 = cài
- 菜刀cài dāokitchen knife; cleaver菜 = cài
- 切菜qiē càito cut vegetables菜 = cài
- 择菜zhái càito trim and sort vegetables before cooking菜 = cài
- 芥菜jiè càimustard greens (the leafy vegetable)菜 = cài
- 芹菜qín càicelery菜 = cài
- 荤菜hūn càimeat dish; non-vegetarian dish菜 = cài
- 菜籽cài zǐrapeseed; vegetable seed菜 = cài
- 菠菜bō càispinach菜 = cài
- 闽菜mǐn càiFujian cuisine, one of China's eight great culinary traditions菜 = cài
- 韭菜jiǔ càiChinese chives菜 = cài
Go deeper
All readings
vegetable; dish
vegetable; greens; dish (of food); course
可以做副食的植物，蔬菜；也指做好的一道道饭菜。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 炒菜chǎo càito stir-fry dishes; a stir-fried dish菜 = cài
- 菜刀cài dāokitchen knife; cleaver菜 = cài
- 切菜qiē càito cut vegetables菜 = cài
- 择菜zhái càito trim and sort vegetables before cooking菜 = cài
- 芥菜jiè càimustard greens (the leafy vegetable)菜 = cài
- 芹菜qín càicelery菜 = cài
- 荤菜hūn càimeat dish; non-vegetarian dish菜 = cài
- 菜籽cài zǐrapeseed; vegetable seed菜 = cài
- 菠菜bō càispinach菜 = cài
- 闽菜mǐn càiFujian cuisine, one of China's eight great culinary traditions菜 = cài
- 韭菜jiǔ càiChinese chives菜 = cài
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 菜 mean?
菜 (cài) means vegetable; greens; dish (of food); course.
How do you pronounce 菜?
It is pronounced cài.
What parts is 菜 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 采 (to pick; to gather (a hand 爫 over a tree 木)), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字「菜，艸之可食者。从艸采聲」；现代字形拆分 ⿱艹采，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「艹」，笔画 3–10 与「采」逐笔对应（3+8=11 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 菜 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 菜?
艹. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 菜?
Common ones are 炒菜, 菜刀, 切菜. The reading of 菜 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.