Explore 菜 in food words and connect each reading to a whole word.
The idea
菜 has 11 strokes; follow the linked diagram. Read 野菜（やさい）, 白菜（はくさい）, 主菜（しゅさい） and 副菜（ふくさい） with さい, but 菜の花（なのはな） with な.
Examples
- 新鮮な野菜を買います。I buy fresh vegetables.
- 鍋で白菜を食べました。I ate Chinese cabbage in a hot pot.
- 春に菜の花が咲きます。Rape blossoms bloom in spring.
- 今日の主菜は魚です。The main dish today is fish.
- ほうれん草で副菜を作りました。I made a side dish with spinach.
- 葉物の野菜を洗ってください。Please wash the leafy greens.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
菜 is not always read さい: 菜の花 uses な. Also, 采 lacks the grass component at the top of 菜.
Try it yourself
Write the reading of 野菜 in hiragana.
Show answer or example answer
やさい
野菜 is やさい, meaning vegetables; 野 is や in this word.
Write the reading of 菜の花 in hiragana.
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なのはな
菜の花 is なのはな, a rape blossom; 菜 is な here.
Choose the missing kanji: 白＿（はくさい）［菜／采］.
Show answer or example answer
菜
菜 completes 白菜（はくさい）, Chinese cabbage; its grass component distinguishes it from 采.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Write the reading of 野菜 in hiragana.
Write the reading of 菜の花 in hiragana.
Choose the missing kanji: 白＿（はくさい）［菜／采］.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write 菜 using the diagram, then cover the readings and make a sentence with 野菜.