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斋

齋
zhāi
noun #20,687

Meanings

  1. 1 to fast / abstain from meat and alcohol
  2. 2 vegetarian diet (Buddhist)
  3. 3 study room or studio (literary)
  4. 4 to give alms to monks

Examples

她每月初一都吃斋。
Tā měi yuè chū yī dōu chī zhāi.
She eats a vegetarian diet on the first of every month.
这家寺庙提供免费的斋饭给信众。
Zhè jiā sìmiào tígōng miǎnfèi de zhāifàn gěi xìnzhòng.
This temple provides free vegetarian meals to devotees.

Tips

culture
In Chinese Buddhist practice, 吃斋 (chī zhāi) refers to observing a vegetarian diet as a form of religious devotion. Many lay Buddhists eat vegetarian on the 1st and 15th of the lunar month. 斋戒 (zhāijiè) means a full religious fast. The character also appears in 书斋 (shūzhāi), a scholar's study.

Stroke Order

斋 zhāi