147 Fruits and Vegetables in Mandarin Chinese

In case you haven’t heard, being healthy is totally ‘in’ right now.

I hear about body positivity, saving the earth, and being vegan everywhere I go… Not so much in China, but even here, the wellness industry is getting bigger by the day.

If you’re into all of this stuff (and you’re learning Mandarin) then check out this whopping list of fruits and vegetable vocabulary!

HEADS UP! Some of the items on this list are pretty niche, and if you’re in China, or with a Chinese-speaking person, they might not know what you’re saying. Hell, I didn’t even know some of these things existed in English! However, there’s no such thing as knowing too much fruit related vocabulary in Mandarin Chinese.

Fruit – 水果 (shuĭ guŏ)

Fruit is everywhere in China and Taiwan – in supermarkets, in market stalls, and in shops with young guys outside shouting about the latest deals.

You’ll be able to find nearly all of the common fruits sold in your home country in this part of the world. However, you’ll also get to sample a lot of fruits that are unique to certain areas of China and Taiwan, too.

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Apple	苹果	píngguǒ
Apricot	杏	xìng
Avocado	牛油果	niúyóuguǒ
Banana	香蕉	xiāngjiāo
Fingered citron (“Bhudda’s hand”)	佛手柑	fóshǒuguā
Blackberry	黑莓	hēiméi
Blackcurrant	黑醋栗	hēicùlì
Blueberry	蓝莓	lánméi
Breadfruit	面包果	miànbāoguǒ
Cantaloupe	哈密瓜	hāmìguā
Cherry	樱桃	yīngtáo
Coconut	叶子	yēzi
Cranberry	小红莓	xiǎohóngméi
Date	枣	zǎo
Dragonfruit	火龙果	huǒ lóng guǒ
Durian	榴莲	liú lián
Elderberry	接骨木	jiēgǔmù
Goji berry	枸杞子	gǒu qǐ zi
Gooseberry	醋栗	cù lì
Grape	葡萄	pútao
Grapefruit	柚子	yòuzi
Green plum	青梅	qīngméi
Guava	番石榴	fān shí liu
Honeydue melon	白兰瓜	báilánguā
Jackfruit	菠萝蜜	bō luó mì
Juniper berry	杜松子	dùsōngzǐ
Kabosu	臭橙	chòu chéng
Kiwifruit	猕猴桃	mí hóu táo
Kumquat	金橘	jīnjú
Lemon	柠檬	níng méng
Lime	酸橙	suān chéng
Loquat	枇杷	pí pá
Longan	龙眼	lóng yǎn
Lychee	荔枝	lìzhī
Mango	芒果	mángguǒ
Mangosteen	山竹	shānzhú
Melon	瓜	guā
Mulberry	桑葚	sāngshèn
Muskmelon	甜瓜	tiánguā
Nectarine	油桃	yóutáo
Orange	橙子	chéngzi
Papaya	木瓜	mùguā
Passion Fruit	百香果	bǎixiāng guǒ
Peach	桃	táo
Pear	李	lí
Pineapple	菠萝	bōluó
Plum	李子	lǐzǐ
Pomegranate	石榴	shíliu
Pomelo	柚	yòu
Prune	干梅子	gàn méizi
Raisins	葡萄干	pútaogān
Rambutan	红毛丹	hóngmáodān
Raspberry	树莓	shùméi
Star fruit	杨桃	yángtáo
Strawberry	草莓	cǎoméi
Tangerine	桔子	júzi
Ugli fruit (Jamaican tangelo)	乌格利橘橙	wū gé lì jú chéng
Watermelon	西瓜	xīguā

Lucky fruits in China

There are a few fruits in Chinese that are given as gifts on special occasions.

Kumquats, oranges, pomelo, and tangerines are said to bring good fortune!

kumquat	金橘	jīnjú
orange	橙子	chéngzi
pomelo	柚	yòu
tangerine	桔子	júzi

Which fruits grow in China？

Loads of fruits that aren’t native to China now grow there, but the fruits below are the most common.

Pineapples – 菠萝 (bōluó) – Around 50 – 60% of the pineapples in China are grown in Guangdong province in the south.
Jackfruit – 菠萝蜜 (bōluómì) – Grown in tropical southern areas with many jackfruit farms on Hainan island.
Lychee – 荔枝 (lìzhī) – A huge amount of Lychees are planted in Guangdong province each year, with a heavy presence in Fujian as well. Lychee season is usually in June and July.
Kumquat – 金橘 (jīn jú) – China produces the most kumquats out of anywhere in the world, most of which are grown in Jiangxi province.
Pomelo – 柚 (yòu) – Produced predominantly in Fujian and Guangdong province.
Bhudda’s Hand Fruit – 佛手柑 (fóshǒuguā) – The origin of this fruit is north-east India and south-west China.
Passion fruit – 百香果 (bǎixiāngguǒ) – Planted mainly in Hainan, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi province.
Dragon fruit – 火龙果 (huǒlóngguǒ) – Nanning, the capital of Guangxi province, is one of the main production areas for dragon fruit in China.
Goji berries – 枸杞子 (gǒuqǐzǐ) – Goji berries grow mostly in the valleys of Ningxia province.
Kabosu – 臭橙 (chòu chéng) – Although Kabosu is now mostly produced in Japan, it originated in China, although the specific location is unknown.
Kiwi fruit– 猕猴桃 (míhóutáo) – A town called Shiping in Yunnan province is an important production area of kiwi fruit.
Bananas – 香蕉 (xiāngjiāo) – Grown in many southern provinces including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Fujian, and Yunnan.
Mangoes – 芒果 (mángguǒ) – The third largest mango producing country in the world, most southern provinces in China have mango farms.
Durian 榴莲 (liúlián) – More than half a million tonnes of durian are sold in China each year, and most of those durians come from Hainan island.

Vegetables – 蔬菜 (shū cài)

Not let’s take a look at some veggies in Chinese.

Because there are so many vegetables in existence, I’ve decided to divide them into categories.

Leafy Greens

English	Chinese	Pinyin
Arugula/rocket	芝麻菜	zhīma cài
Chard (silverbeet)	牛皮菜	niúpícài
Collard greens	绿叶甘蓝	lǜyè gānlán
Kale	羽衣甘蓝	yǔyī gānlán
Lettuce	生菜	shēngcài
Spinach	菠菜	bōcài
Watercress	西洋菜	xīyángcài

Cruciferous Vegetables

Broccoli	西兰花	xīlánhuā
Brussel sprouts	孢子甘蓝	bào zǐ gānlán
Cabbage	卷心菜	juǎnxīncài
Cauliflower	菜花	càihuā
Horseradish	辣根	là gēn
Radish	萝卜	luóbo
Turnip	芜菁	wújīng

Marrow Vegetables

Butternut squash	冬南瓜	dōng nánguā
Cucumber	黄瓜	huángguā
Pumpkin	南瓜	nánguā

Root Vegetables

Asparagus	芦笋	lúsǔn
Beets	甜菜	tiáncài
Carrot	胡萝卜	húluóbo
Celery	芹菜	qíncài
Parsnip	欧洲防风	Ōuzhōu fángfēng
Potato	土豆	tǔdòu
Sweet potato	红薯	hóngshǔ
Yams	山药	shānyao

Allium Vegetables

Chives	韭菜	jiǔcài
Garlic	大蒜	dàsuàn
Leek	大西蒜	dàxī suàn
Onion	洋葱	yángcōng
Shallot	小葱	xiǎocōng
Scallion	青葱	qīngcōng

Legumes – 豆制品

Legumes are a category of vegetables that include peas, lentils, and beans.

Soy products

Edamame	毛豆	máodòu
Miso	味噌	wèicēng
Soybean	黄豆	huángdòu
Tempeh	天呗	tiānbèi
Tofu	豆腐	dòufu

Legume Flour

Chickpea flour	鹰嘴豆粉	yīng zuǐ dòu fěn
Fava bean flour	蚕豆粉	cándòu fěn
Garfava flour	加法瓦粉	jiāfǎ wǎ miànfěn
Lentil flour	扁豆粉	biǎndòu fěn
Soy flour	大豆粉	dàdòu fěn

Dried Beans And Peas

Black Eyed Peas	眉豆	méi dòu
Borlotti Beans	花豆	huā dòu
Chickpeas	鹰嘴豆	yīngzuǐdòu
Haricot Beans	菜豆/扁豆	càidòu/biǎndòu
Red Kidney Beans	红芸豆	hóng yúndòu

Lentils

Beluga lentils	白鲸扁豆	bái jīng biǎndòu
Brown lentils	棕色扁豆	zōngsè biǎndòu
Green lentils	绿扁豆	lǜ biǎndòu
Puy lentils	普伊扁豆	pǔ yī biǎndòu
Red lentils	红扁豆	hóng biǎndòu
Yellow lentils	黄扁豆	huáng biǎndòu

Fresh Beans And Peas

Black beans	黑豆	hēidòu
Broad beans	蚕豆	cándòu
Butter beans	棉豆	mián dòu
Green beans	豆角	dòujiǎo
Green peas	青豆	qīngdòu
Snow peas	荷兰豆	hélándòu

Botanical fruit… Culinary vegetable

By now you’re probably thinking that there are one or two ‘biggie’ fruits and vegetables that I’ve missed.

Fear not. I’m so precise, I’ve decided to make a section for those ‘is it a fruit or a vegetable?’ kinds of things!

Avocado	牛油果	niúyóuguǒ
Bell pepper	甜椒	tián jiāo
Chili peppers	辣椒	làjiāo
Cucumber	黄瓜	huángguā
Eggplant/aubergine	茄子	qiézi
Green peas	青豆	qīngdòu
Olives	橄榄	gǎnlǎn
Sweetcorn	玉米	yùmǐ
Tomato	番茄	fānqié
Zucchini/courgette	西葫芦	xīhúlu

Chinese Vegetables

If you find yourself eating traditional Chinese meals, you might come across quite a lot of unknown or unrecognisable veggies.

Here are quite a few of them, but definitely not all of them…

Amaranth (aka Chinese spinach)	莧菜	xiàncài
Bok Choy	小白菜	xiǎo báicài
Chinese broccoli	芥蓝	jiè lán
Chinese celery	芹菜	qíncài
Chinese mustard greens	芥菜	jiècài
Choy sum	菜心	cài xīn
Edible clover	草头	cǎo tóu
Edible Chrysanthemum	茼蒿	tónghāo
Ji mao cai	鸡毛菜	jīmáo cài
Ma lan tou	马兰头	mǎlán tóu
Napa cabbage	大白菜	dàbái cài
Shepherd’s purse	荠菜	Jìcài
Snow pea leaf	豌豆苗	wāndòu miáo
Sweet potato leaves	红薯叶	hóngshǔ yè
Tat soi	塌棵菜	tā kē cài
Watercress	西洋菜	xīyáng cài
Water spinach	空心菜	kōng xīn cài
Wosun greens (Chinese Lettuce leaves)	莴笋叶	wōsǔn yè
Yam leaves	地瓜苗	dì guā miáo
Youmai	油麦尖	yóu mài jiān

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