菜 (cài) — vegetables; a dish (of food)

entries → 菜

TSUMUGU · TOCFL 1 · 字

菜 character · TOCFL 1

菜＝艹＋采

ㄘㄞˋ · cài

noun — vegetables; a dish (of food)

字源 FORM — what the parts do

艹義plants

采聲gives the sounda hand 爫 picking from a tree 木 — the plucking itself

Tcǎi → cài — only the tone bends

Plants (艹) you can eat — 說文: 草之可食者. 采, a hand plucking from a tree, gives the sound, tone bent to cài. From garden greens to whatever reaches the table: 青菜、一道菜、菜單.

故事 STORY — a scene to remember it by

挎著籃子，手（采）在園裡掐下一把青葉（艹）。

Basket on her arm, a hand (采) nips a fistful of green leaves (艹) from the garden rows.

字源記憶法

意 · Meanings

(本義)蔬菜— edible greens常用

→一道菜— a dish — whatever is cooked

⇒菜單— the menu — the dishes listed

(本義) original meaning · → ⇒ each arrow = one more step of extension