素斋

素齋
sùzhāi
noun

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 vegetarian food (as eaten by Buddhists)
  2. 2 temple vegetarian meal

Examples

HSK 7-9
Wǒmen zài sì lǐ chī le yí dùn sùzhāi.
We had a vegetarian meal at the temple.
HSK 7-9
Zhè zuò sìmiào de sùzhāi hěn yǒumíng, hěnduō yóukè zhuānmén lái pǐncháng.
This temple's vegetarian food is famous, and many visitors come especially to try it.

Tips

culture
Chinese Buddhist cooking leaves out meat and fish and also pungent plants such as garlic, onion and leek. Temple kitchens are known for mock meats made from tofu skin or wheat gluten, such as 素鸡 'vegetarian chicken'.
usage
斋 is food taken under a religious fast, and 吃斋 means keeping such a diet. The everyday word for eating vegetarian is 吃素.

Stroke Order

素 sù
斋 zhāi