盘 pán — big; wooden tray; dish; tray; to build; to check
妈妈端来一盘热腾腾的饺子。Mā ma duān lái yì pán rè téng téng de jiǎo zi.Mom brought over a plate of steaming dumplings.
Common words: 盘子 (pán zi)、光盘 (guāng pán)、键盘 (jiàn pán)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "dish"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "dish", including 盘 (pán), 菜 (cài). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words, and examples.
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "dish" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 盘 (pán), 菜 (cài) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span pán, cài — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 盘 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 盘 pánbig; wooden tray; dish; tray; to build; to checkUseful words: 盘子, 光盘
- 菜 càidish (type of food); vegetablesUseful words: 菜单, 白菜
Common words for these 2 "dish" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 盘 (pán) — so "dish" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "dish".
菜 cài — dish (type of food); vegetables
妈妈做的菜又香又好吃。Mā ma zuò de cài yòu xiāng yòu hǎo chī.The food my mom cooks is fragrant and delicious.
Common words: 菜单 (cài dān)、白菜 (bái cài)、蔬菜 (shū cài)
All 2 characters
Open 盘、菜 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.