coi3 tau4菜頭菜头
Jyutpingcoi3 tau4
Yalechoi tàuh
Definition
Radish or turnip.
colloquialfood
How it's used
While technically referring to root vegetables like carrots or turnips, this term is heavily influenced by Teochew and Hokkien dialects. Most native Hong Kong speakers will default to 蘿蔔 for carrots or white radish in daily life. Using this term often signals a family background or cultural connection to the Chaoshan region.
Measure word
tiu4條tìuhExamples
This soup has a lot of carrots in it, it's very sweet.
Have you bought the carrots yet? We need them for cooking tonight.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with 菜頭 in a metaphorical sense, which can sometimes refer to a foolish person in certain regional dialects. In Hong Kong, it is strictly understood as a vegetable, but it is not the standard term used in supermarkets or wet markets.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
