zaai1 coi3齋菜斋菜
Jyutpingzaai1 coi3
Yalejāai choi
Definition
Vegetarian dishes, typically light and made primarily of vegetables and soy products.
colloquialfooddim sum
How it's used
Refers specifically to dishes prepared without meat, often associated with Buddhist dietary practices. While it implies a lighter, vegetable-based meal, it frequently includes elaborate mock meats made from wheat gluten or soy, which can be surprisingly rich or oily despite the name.
Measure word
dip2碟dípExamples
The vegetarian dishes at this restaurant are very famous.
Do you want to go eat vegetarian food tonight?
Related words
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with simply eating vegetables, as it specifically denotes a type of cuisine or a meal style rather than just the ingredients themselves.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
