Chinese Saying with 菜

Culture plays a very significant role in Chinese learning. That's why in our Skype Chinese lessons, our teachers will attach equal importance to both culture explanation and skill learning. In this post, we will discuss Chinese eating culture. Interestingly, some words and phrases concerning eating will eventually find their way into other aspects of people’s lives. In different parts of China, there are different cuisines or dishes called 菜. Now we will learn Chinese sayings and slangs with the word 菜 (cài).

                   小菜 "Small Dishes"

小菜一碟 (xiǎo cài yì dié)

The original meaning of "小菜一碟" is “a small dish”. What dish is this like? Actually in Chinese, it is a metaphor of something that is not important or very easy to do. In English, it can be translated as “A piece of cake.”

E.g.

zhèjiànshì duìtā lái shuō jiùshì xiǎocàiyìdié.

这件事 对他来说 就是 小菜一碟。

To him, this is only a piece of cake.

你是我的菜 (nǐ shì wǒ de cài)

In Chinese, 你是我的菜 literally “You are my dish” means “something is what I like, or somebody is exactly the type of person that I love”. In different contexts, it can be translated in different ways.

For example, when you meet a girl who is beautiful, slender and gentle, which perfectly corresponds to your requirements for your future girlfriend, then you can say “You are my dish.”

Another example is, when you see lots of lovely dolls in the shop, you can say “This is exactly my dish.” It means these lovely dolls are exactly what I like.

看人下菜 (kàn rén xià cài)

看人下菜 is a popular Chinese idiom saying in north China. Character 下 is another way of saying “to make”. Literally it means “To make a dish according to people.” So what does this phrase mean? In Chinese, it has an implied meaning of “to treat sb according to their social status, relationship with them etc.”

E.g.

tā zhèɡerén hěn shìlì, jīnɡchánɡ kànrén xiàcài.

她这个人 很 势利，经常 看人下菜。

She is a very snobbish person, who treats people with bias.