龟苓膏

龜苓膏

guīlínggāo

noun

Measure Word

一碗龟苓膏 wǎn

Meanings

1 guilinggao
2 turtle jelly (Cantonese herbal dessert)
3 tortoise-shell and Poria herbal jelly

Characters

tortoise, turtle

Poria (a medicinal fungus/root)

Examples

广东人夏天喜欢吃龟苓膏去火。

Guǎngdōng rén xiàtiān xǐhuan chī guīlínggāo qù huǒ.

Cantonese people like to eat guilinggao in summer to dispel internal heat.

这碗龟苓膏加了炼乳，没那么苦。

Zhè wǎn guīlínggāo jiā le liànrǔ, méi nàme kǔ.

This bowl of guilinggao has condensed milk added, so it's not as bitter.

Tips

culture

A Cantonese/Guangxi herbal jelly traditionally made from powdered tortoise plastron (龟板) and 土茯苓 (Smilax glabra root), considered cooling in TCM (清热解毒). Most modern commercial versions contain no actual turtle shell and are sweetened with honey or condensed milk.

Stroke Order

龟 guī

苓 líng

膏 gāo