coi3 sam1菜心
Jyutpingcoi3 sam1
Yalechoi sām
Definition
Choy sum; a green leafy vegetable with small bright yellow flowers and a slightly sweet taste.
colloquialfooddim sum
How it's used
Ordering this vegetable is a staple of Hong Kong dining culture, especially at dim sum or local tea restaurants. It is almost always prepared by blanching or quick stir-frying to maintain its signature crunch. While other leafy greens exist, this is arguably the most iconic vegetable served as a side dish in local eateries.
Measure word
tiu4條tìuhExamples
Shall we have blanched choy sum for dinner tonight?
This plate of stir-fried choy sum is very crisp.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 菜芯, which refers to the heart or core of a vegetable. While the characters are sometimes used interchangeably in casual writing, 菜心 specifically denotes the flowering cabbage variety.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
