Meaning of 薯片
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- fried potato chips
How to use 薯片
薯片 is the everyday word for bagged potato chips (crisps in British English), and it is often counted with 包 (bāo) for bags or 片 (piàn) for single chips. Example: 我买了一包薯片。(Wǒ mǎi le yì bāo shǔpiàn.) I bought a bag of potato chips.
薯 (shǔ) means potato or yam, and it has the grass radical 艹 on top because it is a plant. 片 (piàn) means a thin flat slice, so 薯片 is simply potato slices, which is exactly what chips are.
Common mistake: Learners often use 薯片 for French fries, but fries are 薯条 (shǔtiáo), with 条 meaning strips. Also watch the tone on 薯: it is third tone shǔ, not fourth tone like 树 (shù), tree.
薯片 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
薯 shǔ · yam · 16 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
片 piàn · thin piece · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 薯片.
| 照片 | zhàopiàn | photograph |
| 影片 | yǐngpiàn | a copy of a film; film; motion picture; movie |
| 图片 | túpiàn | picture; photograph |
| 药片 | yàopiàn | a (medicine) pill or tablet |
| 唱片 | chàngpiàn | gramophone record; LP |
| 名片 | míngpiàn | (business) card |
| 相片 | xiàngpiàn | image; photograph |
| 动画片 | dònghuàpiàn | animated film |
| 片面 | piànmiàn | unilateral; one-sided |
| 薯条 | shǔtiáo | french fries; french fried potatoes |
| 短片 | duǎnpiàn | short film; video clip |
| 卡片 | kǎpiàn | card |
Questions about 薯片
What does 薯片 mean?
薯片 (shǔpiàn) means "fried potato chips" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 薯片?
薯片 is made of 2 characters: 薯 (16 strokes), 片 (4 strokes). That is 20 strokes in total.
Is 薯片 an HSK word?
Yes. 薯片 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say potato in Chinese if 薯 means potato?
The common word for potato is 土豆 (tǔdòu), and a more formal one is 马铃薯 (mǎlíngshǔ). 薯 alone is used mostly inside compounds like 薯片, 薯条 and 红薯 (hóngshǔ), sweet potato.
Why does 片 appear in so many words like 照片 and 名片?
片 describes something thin and flat, so it shows up in words for flat objects: a photo is 照片 (zhàopiàn), a business card is 名片 (míngpiàn), and a pill is 药片 (yàopiàn). Knowing this helps you guess the meaning of new words ending in 片.