橘子 (júzi) · tangerine; mandarin orange

Measure Word

一颗橘子 kē

Meanings

1 tangerine; mandarin orange

About the ingredient

水果 Fruit · In season: autumn and winter

Loose-skinned mandarins that peel by hand, ripe from October to December. Mostly eaten raw, and also canned or candied; the dried peel of some kinds becomes the seasoning 陈皮.

Also called 桔子、橘、桔

Characters

橘 (tangerine) + 子 (noun suffix). Note: 桔 is a common simplified variant of 橘.

Examples

HSK 3

这些橘子真甜。

Zhèxiē júzi zhēn tián.

These tangerines are really sweet.

HSK 3

南方人过年的时候喜欢买橘子。

Nánfāng rén guònián de shíhou xǐhuan mǎi júzi.

Southern Chinese like to buy tangerines for Chinese New Year.

Tips

culture

橘子 and 桔子 are interchangeable. Tangerines are lucky fruits for Chinese New Year because 橘/桔 sounds like 吉 (lucky). In Cantonese, 柑 (mandarin orange) sounds like 金 (gold). That's why you see piles of oranges everywhere during Spring Festival.