仙草

Chinese

		immortal	grass; straw; draft (of a document) grass; straw; draft (of a document); careless; rough; manuscript; hasty
trad. (仙草)		仙	草
simp. #(仙草)		仙	草

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): xiāncǎo

  (Zhuyin): ㄒㄧㄢ ㄘㄠˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): sin¹ cou²
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): siên-chhó
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): sian-chháu / chhian-chháu / chhan-chháu

  (Teochew, Peng'im): siêng¹ cao²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: xiāncǎo
    • Zhuyin: ㄒㄧㄢ ㄘㄠˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: siancǎo
    • Wade–Giles: hsien¹-tsʻao³
    • Yale: syān-tsǎu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: shiantsao
    • Palladius: сяньцао (sjanʹcao)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ t͡sʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: sin¹ cou²
    • Yale: sīn chóu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: sin¹ tsou²
    • Guangdong Romanization: xin¹ cou²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /siːn⁵⁵ t͡sʰou̯³⁵/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: siên-chhó
    • Hakka Romanization System: xien´ co`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: xian¹ co³
    • Sinological IPA: /si̯en²⁴ t͡sʰo³¹/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Sanxia, Yilan, Hsinchu, Magong, Kinmen)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sian-chháu
    • Tâi-lô: sian-tsháu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sienzhao
    • IPA (Xiamen, Kinmen): /siɛn⁴⁴⁻²² t͡sʰau⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /siɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sʰau⁴¹/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /siɛn³³ t͡sʰau⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei, Yilan): /siɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sʰau⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhian-chháu
    • Tâi-lô: tshian-tsháu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: chienzhao
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sʰau⁴¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /t͡sʰiɛn⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sʰau⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Tainan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chhan-chháu
    • Tâi-lô: tshan-tsháu
    • Phofsit Daibuun: zhanzhao
    • IPA (Tainan): /t͡sʰan⁴⁴⁻³³ t͡sʰau⁵³/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: siêng¹ cao²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: sieng tsháu
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sieŋ³³⁻²³ t͡sʰau⁵²/

Noun

仙草

1. (mythology) magical grass
2. Chinese mesona (Platostoma palustre), plant used to make grass jelly
3. (chiefly Taiwan, Singapore) grass jelly

   • 從早期單純以木薯粉製成的白色或黑色珍珠粉圓（以下簡稱珍珠），到今天五彩繽紛的各式各樣珍珠或爆爆珠（或稱魔豆、水果球），加上布丁、仙草、水果等配料所創造的新奇組合，以及調味粉、糖漿與茶葉千變萬化的搭配，可說是珍奶產業能夠生生不息，進而逐漸從臺灣紅到香港、中國大陸、東南亞、日本、韓國、北美、歐洲，甚至拉丁美洲、非洲與中東的主要原因。 [MSC, trad.]
     从早期单纯以木薯粉制成的白色或黑色珍珠粉圆（以下简称珍珠），到今天五彩缤纷的各式各样珍珠或爆爆珠（或称魔豆、水果球），加上布丁、仙草、水果等配料所创造的新奇组合，以及调味粉、糖浆与茶叶千变万化的搭配，可说是珍奶产业能够生生不息，进而逐渐从台湾红到香港、中国大陆、东南亚、日本、韩国、北美、欧洲，甚至拉丁美洲、非洲与中东的主要原因。 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 2018, 方文章, 整合創新 珍奶供應鏈好犀利, in 《經貿透視雙周刊》, issue 498, page 59

     Cóng zǎoqī dānchún yǐ mùshǔfěn zhìchéng de báisè huò hēisè zhēnzhū fěnyuán (yǐxià jiǎnchēng zhēnzhū), dào jīntiān wǔcǎibīnfēn de gèshìgèyàng zhēnzhū huò bàobàozhū (huòchēng módòu, shuǐguǒqiú), jiāshàng bùdīng, xiāncǎo, shuǐguǒ děng pèiliào suǒ chuàngzào de xīnqí zǔhé, yǐjí diàowèifěn, tángjiāng yǔ cháyè qiānbiànwànhuà de dāpèi, kě shuō shì zhēnnǎi chǎnyè nénggòu shēngshēngbùxī, jìn ér zhújiàn cóng Táiwān hóng dào Xiānggǎng, Zhōngguó Dàlù, Dōngnányà, Rìběn, Hánguó, Běiměi, Ōuzhōu, shènzhì Lādīng Měizhōu, Fēizhōu yǔ Zhōngdōng de zhǔyào yuányīn. [Pinyin]

     From humble beginnings of making white or black tapioca pearls (hereinafter referred to as just pearls) out of cassava flour, now, there are pearls in all sorts of colors or popping boba (also called magic beans or fruit balls), plus matching ingredients like pudding, grass jelly, fruit, etc. with seasoning, syrup, and tea leaves to create endless combinations. It can be said that this is the principal reason for the bubble tea industry's gradual development from Taiwan to Hong Kong, Mainland China, Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea, North America, Europe, and even Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East.

Synonyms

• (Chinese mesona):

Dialectal synonyms of 仙草 (“Chinese mesona”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		仙草
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	仙草
Cantonese	Guangzhou	涼粉草
	Hong Kong	涼粉草
Hakka	Meixian	仙人草
	Xingning	仙人草
	Huidong (Daling)	涼粉草
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	涼粉草
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	涼粉草
	Changting	仙人草
	Wuping	仙草
	Wuping (Pingyu)	仙人草
	Liancheng	仙草
	Ninghua	仙人草
	Ruijin	仙米凍草
	Shicheng	涼水坨
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	仙草
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	仙草
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	仙草
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	仙草
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	仙草
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	仙草
Southern Min	Tainan	仙草
	Shantou	草粿草

• (grass jelly):

Dialectal synonyms of 仙草凍 (“grass jelly”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Northeastern Mandarin	Taiwan	仙草凍, 仙草
	Malaysia	涼粉
	Singapore	仙草
Cantonese	Guangzhou	涼粉, 涼粉草
	Hong Kong	涼粉
	Taishan	涼粉
	Dongguan	涼粉
	Penang (Guangfu)	涼粉
	Singapore (Guangfu)	涼粉
	Betong (Rongxian)	仙人粄
Gan	Lichuan	仙草糕
Hakka	Meixian	仙人粄
	Wuping	仙草凍, 仙水凍
Southern Min	Xiamen	青草凍
	Zhangzhou	田草凍, 田草
	Taipei	仙草
	New Taipei (Tamsui)	仙草
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	仙草
	Kaohsiung	仙草
	Kaohsiung (Cijin)	田草
	Kaohsiung (Hongmaogang, Siaogang)	清草
	Kaohsiung (Dalinpu, Siaogang)	田草
	Yilan	仙草
	Yilan (Toucheng)	田草, 仙草
	Changhua (Lukang)	青草
	Taichung	仙草
	Tainan	田草
	Tainan (Anping)	仙草
	Hsinchu	仙草
	Kinmen	仙草
	Penghu (Magong)	仙草
	Penghu (Xiyu)	仙草
	Penang (Hokkien)	涼粉
	Singapore (Hokkien)	清草
	Chaozhou	草粿
	Shantou	草粿
	Jieyang	草粿
	Bangkok (Teochew)	草粿
	Hat Yai (Teochew)	草粿
	Ho Chi Minh City (Teochew)	草粿
	Singapore (Teochew)	草粿
	Qionghai	清草
	Singapore (Hainanese)	清草

Derived terms

• 仙草凍／仙草冻 (xiāncǎodòng)
• 仙草蜜