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Chinese celery

Chinese celery

3.9
A vegetable with thin stalks and a strong flavor used in Asian cooking
  • noun
translation icon : apio chino
  • She prefers using Chinese celery for its stronger flavor in her noodle soups.

Examples

  • The stir-fry recipe calls for fresh Chinese celery instead of regular celery.

  • You can find Chinese celery at most Asian grocery stores year-round.

  • I bought some Chinese celery at the market.

  • Have you tried Chinese celery in your stir-fry?

  • She prefers using Chinese celery for its stronger flavor in her noodle soups.

  • The stir-fry recipe calls for fresh Chinese celery instead of regular celery.

  • You can find Chinese celery at most Asian grocery stores year-round.

Synonyms

celery
vsChinese celery
70 1.0

A green vegetable with long crisp stalks eaten raw or cooked

is a narrower variety with slender stalks and lighter leaves used in Asian cooking

Surface Forms

Morphology

Chinese + celery

This is a straightforward adjective + noun combination where 'Chinese' specifies the variety or origin of 'celery'; a B1 learner who knows both words will infer it refers to a type of celery associated with China or Chinese cuisine. The compositional pattern (national adjective + noun = variety/origin) is cross-linguistically common, so the meaning is directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Chinese celery is named because this kind of celery is common in Chinese and other Asian cooking and looks different from regular celery, with thin, crisp stalks and a stronger taste. That's why 'Chinese celery' today means the thin variety with a stronger taste used in Asian cooking.