柴米油鹽醬醋茶

Chinese

		firewood	rice; metre	oil; sly	salt	jam; thick sauce	vinegar	tea; tea plant
trad. (柴米油鹽醬醋茶)		柴	米	油	鹽	醬	醋	茶
simp. (柴米油盐酱醋茶)		柴	米	油	盐	酱	醋	茶
Literally: “firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea”.

Etymology

From a poem in the Yuan Dynasty dynasty play 劉行首／刘行首.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): chái mǐ yóu yán jiàng cù chá

  (Zhuyin): ㄔㄞˊ ㄇㄧˇ ㄧㄡˊ ㄧㄢˊ ㄐㄧㄤˋ ㄘㄨˋ ㄔㄚˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): caai⁴ mai⁵ jau⁴ jim⁴ zoeng³ cou³ caa⁴

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: chái mǐ yóu yán jiàng cù chá
    • Zhuyin: ㄔㄞˊ ㄇㄧˇ ㄧㄡˊ ㄧㄢˊ ㄐㄧㄤˋ ㄘㄨˋ ㄔㄚˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: chái mǐ yóu yán jiàng cù chá
    • Wade–Giles: chʻai² mi³ yu² yen² chiang⁴ tsʻu⁴ chʻa²
    • Yale: chái mǐ yóu yán jyàng tsù chá
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: chair mii you yan jianq tsuh char
    • Palladius: чай ми ю янь цзян цу ча (čaj mi ju janʹ czjan cu ča)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰaɪ̯³⁵ mi²¹⁴⁻²¹ joʊ̯³⁵ jɛn³⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɑŋ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰu⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʰä³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: caai⁴ mai⁵ jau⁴ jim⁴ zoeng³ cou³ caa⁴
    • Yale: chàaih máih yàuh yìhm jeung chou chàh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsaai⁴ mai⁵ jau⁴ jim⁴ dzoeng³ tsou³ tsaa⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: cai⁴ mei⁵ yeo⁴ yim⁴ zêng³ cou³ ca⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰaːi̯²¹ mɐi̯¹³ jɐu̯²¹ jiːm²¹ t͡sœːŋ³³ t͡sʰou̯³³ t͡sʰaː²¹/

Idiom

柴米油鹽醬醋茶

1. daily necessities

Synonyms

• 布帛菽粟 (bùbóshūsù)
• 必需品 (bìxūpǐn)
• 日常用品 (rìcháng yòngpǐn)
• 日用品 (rìyòngpǐn)
• 柴米油鹽／柴米油盐 (cháimǐyóuyán)
• 油鹽醬醋／油盐酱醋 (yóuyánjiàngcù)
• 生活用品 (shēnghuó yòngpǐn)
• 用物 (yòngwù) (literary)
• 粟帛 (sùbó) (literary)
• 薪水 (xīnshuǐ) (literary)
• 開門七件事／开门七件事 (kāimén qī jiàn shì)

 

See also

• 開門七件事／开门七件事 (kāimén qī jiàn shì)

References

• 劉行首第二折