菜 (cài) means Vegetable (dish). Below are 22 sentences on this site that use it — with pinyin, an English translation and audio. All of them were written by hand; none is machine generated.
Dictionary examples
你吃过中国 菜 吗？
Nǐ chī guo Zhōngguó cài ma?
Have you ever eaten Chinese food?
Dictionary example · HSK 2 · 过
妈妈做的 菜 很好吃。
Māma zuò de cài hěn hǎochī.
The food my mother makes is delicious.
Dictionary example · HSK 2 · 好吃
这家饭店的 菜 很一般。
Zhè jiā fàndiàn de cài hěn yìbān.
The food at this restaurant is nothing special.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 一般
服务员，请给我们 菜 单。
Fúwùyuán, qǐng gěi wǒmen càidān.
Waiter, could we have the menu please?
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 菜单
菜 单上的 菜 我都想试试。
Càidān shàng de cài wǒ dōu xiǎng shìshi.
I want to try every dish on the menu.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 菜单
这个 菜 很贵，但是很好吃。
Zhège cài hěn guì, dànshì hěn hǎochī.
This dish is expensive, but it's delicious.
Dictionary example · HSK 2 · 但是
他做的 菜 很简单，但是很好吃。
Tā zuò de cài hěn jiǎndān, dànshì hěn hǎochī.
The food he cooks is simple but delicious.
Dictionary example · HSK 3 · 简单
From the graded readers
他还要了一些 菜 。
tā háiyāo le / liǎo / liào yīxiē cài.
He also ordered some vegetables.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · At the Restaurant
我们坐下，看 菜 单。
wǒmen zuòxia, kàn / kān càidān.
We sat down and looked at the menu.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · At the Restaurant
我们喜欢吃米饭和 菜 。
wǒmen xǐhuan chī mǐfàn hé cài.
We like eating rice and vegetables.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · My Day
菜 很好吃，我吃了很多。
cài hěnhǎo chī, wǒ chīle hěnduō.
The food was delicious and I ate a lot.
Graded reader · HSK 1 · At the Restaurant
我说：“吃了，我做了米饭和 菜 。”
wǒ shuō:" chīle, wǒ zuòle mǐfàn hé cài."
I said, "Yes — I made rice and vegetables."
Graded reader · HSK 1 · A Phone Call
From the travel phrasebook
有英文 菜 单吗？
Yǒu Yīngwén càidān ma?
Is there an English menu?
Travel phrasebook · Ordering in a restaurant
From the grammar library
你喜欢中国 菜 吗？
Nǐ xǐhuan Zhōngguó cài ma?
Do you like Chinese food?
Grammar library · HSK 1 · 吗 and 呢 questions
你喜不喜欢中国 菜 ？
Nǐ xǐ bu xǐhuan Zhōngguó cài?
Do you like Chinese food?
Grammar library · HSK 2 · A-not-A questions
Words that contain 菜
Each of these has sentences of its own, so you can see the character doing a different job in each one.
Questions about 菜
How is 菜 used in a sentence?
This page shows 22 sentences using 菜 (cài, "Vegetable (dish)"), each with pinyin, an English translation and audio. Every one of them was written by hand for this site.
Are these sentences machine generated?
No. They come from the site's own dictionary examples, graded readers, travel phrasebook and grammar library — all written by a person. A word with no sentence gets no page here, rather than a page of invented ones.
Why do some sentences show 菜 inside a longer word?
Because that is where a single character usually lives. Seeing 菜 inside the words it builds is how the character stops being an isolated symbol and starts being something you can read.
Is 菜 an HSK word?
Yes — 菜 is on the official HSK 1 vocabulary list, and you can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 1 page.
Where can I see the full entry for 菜?
The dictionary page for 菜 has its stroke order, its traditional form, every sense the dictionary lists and a character-by-character breakdown. It is linked at the top of this page.
Keep going
Read the full entry for 菜, write a sentence of your own and check it in the Pinyin Annotator, drill it with HSK 1 flashcards, or search the whole sentence bank for another word.
Another word
Chinese, pinyin or English. Tone marks optional.