A very interesting question has come up about how to interpret the term xi\u01ceo c\u00e0i gu\u01cen \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928 (lit., \"small vegetable \/ dish shop\").\u00a0 Some people say it should be A. \"xi\u01ceo c\u00e0igu\u01cen\" (a small restaurant).\u00a0 Other people say it should be B. \"xi\u01ceoc\u00e0i gu\u01cen\" (a place where you get side dishes \/ family style cooking).<\/p>\n
See \"Gourmet Chinese cookshop<\/a>\" and the comments thereto.<\/p>\n I think that it is not just one or the other, but that it can be both depending upon the circumstances.<\/p>\n When I want xi\u01ceo c\u00e0i gu\u01cen \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928 to mean A. (xi\u01ceo c\u00e0igu\u01cen (\"a small restaurant\"]), I pronounce it with a slight pause after xi\u01ceo and emphasis on the first syllable of c\u00e0igu\u01cen.\u00a0 When I want xi\u01ceo c\u00e0i gu\u01cen \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928 to mean B. (xi\u01ceoc\u00e0i gu\u01cen (\"a place where you get side dishes \/ family style cooking\"]), I pronounce it with a pause after the second syllable and a slightly greater emphasis on the third syllable.<\/p>\n For the importance of pause and emphasis in Chinese elocution, see, for example, here<\/a> and here<\/a> (4th paragraph).<\/p>\n As we shall see from the survey and analysis below, there are even other possibilities for understanding this collocation.\u00a0 In the end, its precise meaning can only be determined by context. 1. Is\u00a0 xi\u01ceo c\u00e0i \u5c0f\u83dc a particularly Cantonese phenomenon?\u00a0 Like Dim Sum?<\/p>\n 2. Is c\u00e0igu\u01cen \u83dc\u9928 a particularly Cantonese term?\u00a0 Dictionaries say that it is f\u0101ngy\u00e1n \u65b9\u8a00 (\"topolect\"), but they don't say which f\u0101ngy\u00e1n \u65b9\u8a00 (\"topolect\").\u00a0 By saying that c\u00e0igu\u01cen \u83dc\u9928 is a topolectal expression, they imply that it is not a part of the normal Modern Standard Mandarin [MSM] vocabulary.<\/p>\n For the results of the survey, see the long section in the latter part of this post.<\/p>\n First, some PRELIMINARY NOTES<\/p>\n Here follow some statistics that might be relevant.<\/p>\n Google hits for:<\/p>\n \"xi\u01ceoc\u00e0igu\u01cen \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928\" 343,000<\/p>\n \"xi\u01ceoc\u00e0i \u5c0f\u83dc\" 5,580,000\u00a0 (\"side dish\" is suggested as a translation)<\/p>\n \"c\u00e0igu\u01cen \u83dc\u9928\" 1,140,000<\/p>\n \"zh\u014dngc\u00e0igu\u01cen \u4e2d\u83dc\u9928\" 1,340,000<\/p>\n \"zh\u014dngc\u00e0i \u4e2d\u83dc\" 399,000<\/p>\n \"d\u00e0c\u00e0igu\u01cen \u5927\u83dc\u9928\" 19,800<\/p>\n \"d\u00e0c\u00e0i \u5927\u83dc\" 866,000<\/p>\n ==========<\/p>\n Vocabulary notes (pronunciations are in MSM unless otherwise indicated)<\/p>\n xi\u01ceo \u5c0f = small<\/p>\n zh\u014dng \u4e2d = middle; Chinese<\/p>\n d\u00e0 \u5927 = large<\/p>\n c\u00e0i \u83dc = vegetable; dish<\/p>\n gu\u01cen \u9928 = shop; hall<\/p>\n f\u00e0ngu\u01cen \u996d\u9986 = restaurant<\/p>\n c\u0101ngu\u01cen \u9910\u9928 = restaurant<\/p>\n ji\u0101ch\u00e1ng c\u00e0i \u5bb6\u5e38\u83dc = home(-style) cooking \/ dishes<\/p>\n Cantonese nan2 sau2 siu2 coi3 \u649a\u624b\u5c0f\u83dc (\"[chef's] specialty\"); this reminds me of Mandarin n\u00e1sh\u01d2u c\u00e0i \u62ff\u624b\u83dc (\"special dish; specialty of the house\"; etc.) — n\u00e1sh\u01d2u \u62ff\u624b refers to what one is \"good \/ adept \/ expert\" at.<\/p>\n Here is the Chinese Wikipedia article for xi\u01ceoc\u00e0i \u5c0f\u83dc, the understanding of which is key in our current investigation.\u00a0 For those who read Chinese, see especially the first paragraph for a basic definition and explanation of the term.\u00a0 This Chinese Wikipedia article on xi\u01ceoc\u00e0i \u5c0f\u83dc<\/a> is equated with the English Wikipedia article on \"side dish\"<\/a>, which begins:<\/p>\n \" A side dish<\/b>, sometimes referred to as a side order<\/b>, side item<\/b>, or simply a side<\/b>, is a food item that accompanies the entr\u00e9e<\/a> or main course<\/a> at a meal<\/a>.\"<\/p>\n ==========<\/p>\n Survey replies<\/strong> (arranged in order of decreasing accessibility to non-specialists) — followed by a concluding paragraph at the bottom.<\/p>\n 1. Specialist on computational analysis of Cantonese and Mandarin:<\/p>\n When I saw this, my reaction was \"it's ambiguous\". Might be interesting to poll people about their instinctive parse of that expression.<\/p>\n A related phenomenon is called \"bracketing paradox\"; Wikipedia says something about this. Some of these are just orthographic, but others are real puzzles where one phonetic rule assumes one structure and another simultaneously applying rule assumes the other bracketing. But \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928 is probably not a bracketing paradox, just an ambiguity \u2013 unless you find that the prosodic grouping is at odds with the expected meaning in some utterance.<\/p>\n 2. Specialist on Hanyu Pinyin:<\/p>\n Another possibility would be \"Xiao Cai [de] guan\" (a restaurant belonging to someone with the family name of Cai who has the nickname of Xiao Cai).<\/p>\n From a Taiwan perspective even that might be more common than the 1 + 2 combination.<\/p>\n I mean that 1+1+1 would probably be more common in Taiwan than 1+2.<\/p>\n 3. Native speaker of Cantonese, professional translator:<\/p>\n I favour the second interpretation (B.) as I would say that 'siu choi' is more like an idiom – for dishes other than the main; in other words, side dishes.\u00a0 The two words go together in a phrase .\u00a0 If a 'small' restaurant was meant, the descriptive phrase in Cantonese would be 'sai ge chaan gun.'\u00a0 As a heading for a restaurant, if one was referring to size, they could say 'siu yihng chaan gun' for 'small-size restaurant.'<\/p>\n In fact, the complete phrase sounds more like Mandarin than Cantonese to me as, in the latter, you would usually say 'chaan gun' for restaurant rather than just 'gun'.<\/p>\n As for\u00a0'jung' choi and 'daai' choi, it appears they are now following the examples of dim sum which are charged according to the size of the dish.\u00a0 It may be because of this reason that people think 'siu' in 'siu choi gun' has to do with the size of the restaurant, although I am sure the original meaning had to do with 'siu' being not\u00a0the main dish.<\/p>\n The completely literal translation of 'siu yihng chaan gun' would be 'small-shaped' or 'small-type' restaurant<\/p>\n 4. Chinese language professor in an American university, native speaker of Mandarin:<\/p>\n Xiaocai in Shanghai just means dishes (most likely Chinese) and not snacks.\u00a0 They use dacai to refer to western food.\u00a0 So is dacan or xishi dacan (western style big meal).\u00a0 I don't think Cantonese uses the term xiaocai. But even for Shanghai people, I think the more likely segmentation for xiao cai guan is xiao | caiguan, meaning a small eatery.<\/p>\n 5. Native speaker of Shanghainese and Mandarin; professor of English in an American university:<\/p>\n I am from Shanghai. The term xiaocai simply means daily food. For example, \"Where are you going?\" \"To buy xiaocai\" (meaning going to the food mart to buy daily food with specific reference to meats, seafood, or veggies, not including staple food items such as rice).\u00a0 Xiaocai guan is a rather new term, probably originated from Pudong dialect, which means restaurant. In this sense, the word-character xiao doesn't mean \"small\" at all. It loses its own independent meaning when used in the character combination of xiaocai.<\/p>\n Another term comparable with xiaocai is xiaochao (lit., small stir-fry), which is the name of a popular dish in Shanghai and Hangzhou cuisine, and which refers to a dish of assorted food items including mainly a variety of veggies and pork cut into thin slices and stir-fried.<\/p>\n 6. Native speaker of Shanghainese and Mandarin; professor of modern Chinese history in a Chinese university:<\/p>\n If it refers to something dialectal, I agree that it is xiaocai guan. In Shanghainese, there is a term xiaocai, and dacai, yet no zhongcai. There is another expression called \"dacai shifu\", which means the main chef of a western-style restaurant.<\/p>\n I think xiaocai guan contains the meaning of Jiachang cai; however, if there\u00a0are also zhong caiguan, and da caiguan (although I have never heard of them) — I think these two are related to their different sizes.<\/p>\n 7. Native speaker of Cantonese:<\/p>\n My understanding is xiaocaiguan is a snack place. Not a restaurant as cantos kinda eat throughout the day instead of the standard three meals a day. There's also the late night meal\/snack called siu\u00a0ye which can often be had at xiaocaiguan.<\/p>\n 8. American professor of Mandarin language and linguistics:<\/p>\n In my experience \u5c0f\u83dc is also a Taiwan phenomenon, either something you can get to accompany a large meal, or as a snack.\u00a0 In Taipei, late night snacks (\u5bb5\u591c) either indoors or at street stands are often entirely \u5c0f\u83dc, or \u5c0f\u83dc accompanying a bowl of noodles or rice porridge (\u7a00\u996d).<\/p>\n 9. PRC graduate student in an American university; native speaker of Mandarin from Hunan province:<\/p>\n I agree with you that the meaning of \"\u5c0f\u83dc\u9986\" depends upon the circumstances.\u00a0 However, I remember the \"\u5c0f\u83dc\u9986\" I saw before are usually small restaurants. Meanwhile, I think \"\u5c0f\u83dc\" in Cantonese means green vegetables, the same as my hometown. Beside \"\u5927\u83dc\", there is a word \"\u786c\u83dc\" (y\u00ecngc\u00e0i [\"hard \/ substantial dish\"]) in Northern Chinese topolect. You can find the introduction here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also here<\/a> is the introduction of \"\u5927\u83dc\".<\/p>\n 10. American professor of Mandarin language and linguistics, specialist on Shanghainese:<\/p>\n I agree\u00a0that it can be both A. and B. depending upon the circumstances. One should ask the owners of particular\u00a0\u5c0f\u83dc\u9928\u00a0exactly what they mean by the name. One could canvass some of the establishments that bill themselves as \"\u5c0f\u83dc\u9928\"\u00a0among the\u00a0343,000 google hits to see what they say. Perhaps an analysis of what they serve would also provide an insight.<\/p>\n I suspect it is more often probably xi\u01ceo c\u00e0igu\u01cen<\/i>.\u00a0\u5c0f \u83dc is a term for vegetables or for cooked dishes (equivalent to\u00a0\u83dc alone) in many places, not just Shanghai or the Wu region. Dictionaries that say\u00a0\u83dc\u9928 is \u65b9\u8a00 (\"topolect\") usually mean that it is not a common Beijing or northern word. But I think it is fairly widespread, perhaps especially so in south China. I have not found any dialect lexicons that list\u00a0\u83dc\u9928, which means that the compilers of those lists considered it too common to be included as characteristic of their dialect. I think it should be xiao caiguan, meaning a small restaurant. Although xiaocai means side dish, there is no restaurant that only offers side dishes. In the north, people say fanguan (\u996d\u9986), which equals caiguan (\u83dc\u9986). We also say xiao fanguan (\u5c0f\u996d\u9986). But I do not think there is a word *\u5c0f\u996d.<\/p>\n I think \u4e2d\u83dc actually means \u4e2d\u56fd\u83dc rather than \"middle dish\". If I see the word \u4e2d\u83dc\u9986, I would understand it as \"a restaurant that offers Chinese food.\" Although \u5927\u83dc means entree, I think \u5927\u83dc\u9986 only means a big restaurant.<\/p>\n I also do not think Dim Sum is \u5c0f\u83dc. In the north, when people say \u5c0f\u83dc, they mean vegetables or cold meat served in small dishes before the main dishes (usually duck, fish, hot meat, etc). Dim Sum is usually served after finishing the main dishes as dessert. In the north, when people say \u70b9\u5fc3, they usually refer to dessert, such as Chinese cakes. Ice cream is not \u70b9\u5fc3.<\/p>\n Hope this helps. The catering culture is so different in China. I only know what people usually do in the north.<\/p>\n 12. Specialist on Mandarin and Cantonese, with knowledge of Shanghainese and Swatow:<\/p>\n I think it means \"xi\u01ceoc\u00e0i gu\u01cen\" like \"\u5bb6\u5e38\u4fbf\u996d\" (\"daily \/ common \/ ordinary fare\") (kind of \u5c0f\u83dc — I'm not sure if the term has Cantonese roots, but\u00a0this usage is extremely common in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n As in \"\u649a\u624b\u5c0f\u83dc\" — a phrase that you hear a lot in HK.<\/p>\n So yes, I would think that in the Cantonese context, \u5c0f\u83dc\u9986 means\u00a0\"a place where you get side dishes\"; but in mainland\/northern Chinese context, I'm not so sure about it — maybe it means a small restaurant…<\/p>\n 13. Native speaker of Cantonese; linguist:<\/p>\n I suppose \"\u5c0f\u83dc\u9928\" can indeed be interpreted either way (A. or B.).<\/p>\n No,\u00a0\"\u5c0f\u83dc\" meaning dishes is not<\/i> a Cantonese term; we generally use \"\u9938\" (Jyutping sung3) instead. Not surprisingly, \"\u83dc\u9928\" is also not<\/i> Cantonese in origin.<\/p>\n As to the origin(s) of the terms \"\u5c0f\u83dc\" and\u00a0\"\u83dc\u9928\", I was under the impression that they were from Shanghai or somewhere around Jianghuai \u6c5f\u6dee area, but I could well be wrong.<\/p>\n I doubt if \"\u4e2d\u83dc\" actually refers to \"Chinese dishes\".<\/p>\n 14. Editor of a major Chinese dictionary; native speaker of Shanghainese:<\/p>\n Z\u00e0i y\u01d2uxi\u0113 f\u0101ngy\u00e1n r\u00fa Sh\u00e0ngh\u01ceihu\u00e0 zh\u014dng, xi\u01ceoc\u00e0i ji\u00f9sh\u00ec f\u00e0n zh\u01d0 y\u00far\u00f2u sh\u016bc\u00e0i d\u011bng c\u00e0iy\u00e1o. Xi\u01ceo c\u00e0igu\u01cen zh\u00e8ge c\u00ed xi\u00e0nz\u00e0i b\u00f9 d\u00e0 y\u00f2ng, y\u00ecsi ji\u00f9sh\u00ec c\u00e0igu\u01cen. D\u00e0c\u00e0i zh\u01d0 x\u012bc\u00e0i h\u00e9 x\u012bc\u0101n, Q\u012bngch\u00e1o m\u00f2ni\u00e1n ji\u00f9 y\u01d2u zh\u00e8 zh\u01d2ng shu\u014df\u01ce. Ch\u012b d\u00e0c\u00e0i ji\u00f9sh\u00ec ch\u012b x\u012bc\u0101n. Zh\u00ecy\u00fa Zh\u014dng c\u00e0igu\u01cen, zh\u01d0 Zh\u014dng c\u0101ngu\u01cen. Ch\u012b Zh\u014dng c\u00e0i, y\u00ecsi ji\u00f9sh\u00ec ch\u012b Chinese food. N\u00edn k\u011by\u01d0 ch\u00e1 ch\u00e1 Xi\u00e0nd\u00e0i H\u00e0ny\u01d4 c\u00eddi\u01cen de y\u01d2ugu\u0101n c\u00ed ti\u00e1o, n\u00e0l\u01d0 de sh\u00ecy\u00ec d\u00e0t\u01d0 sh\u00ec du\u00ec de.<\/p>\n \u5728\u6709\u4e9b\u65b9\u8a00\u5982\u4e0a\u6d77\u8bdd\u4e2d\uff0c\u5c0f\u83dc\u5c31\u662f\u6cdb\u6307\u9c7c\u8089\u852c\u83dc\u7b49\u83dc\u80b4\u3002\u5c0f\u83dc\u9986\u8fd9\u4e2a\u8bcd\u73b0\u5728\u4e0d\u5927\u7528\uff0c\u610f\u601d\u5c31\u662f\u83dc\u9986\u3002\u5927\u83dc\u6307\u897f\u83dc\u548c\u897f\u9910\uff0c\u6e05\u671d\u672b\u5e74\u5c31\u6709\u8fd9\u79cd\u8bf4\u6cd5\u3002\u5403\u5927\u83dc\u5c31 \u662f\u5403\u897f\u9910\u3002\u81f3\u4e8e\u4e2d\u83dc\u9986\uff0c\u6307\u4e2d\u9910\u9986\u3002\u5403\u4e2d\u83dc\uff0c\u610f\u601d\u5c31\u662f\u5403 Chinese food\u3002\u60a8\u53ef\u4ee5\u67e5\u67e5\u300a\u73b0\u4ee3\u6c49\u8bed\u8bcd\u5178\u300b\u7684\u6709\u5173\u8bcd\u6761\uff0c\u90a3\u91cc\u7684\u91ca\u4e49\u5927\u4f53\u662f\u5bf9\u7684.<\/p>\n In some topolects, such as the Shanghai topolect, \"xiaocai\" refers to meat dishes and vegetables and other dishes. The word \"xiaocai guan\" means \"a restaurant\", but it is not used much now. \"Dacai\" refers to Western food and Western dishes; these terms have been in use since the latter part of the Qing Dynasty. Eat \"dacai\" means to eat Western food. As for \"Zhong caiguan\", it refers to a Chinese restaurant. To eat \"Zhongcai\" means to eat Chinese food. You can look up the relevant entries in Dictionary<\/i> of <\/i>Modern Chinese<\/i> of, where the interpretations are generally correct.<\/p>\n 15. Director of the Asian library at a major university in America; native speaker of Shanghainese:<\/p>\n I think that, in Shanghainese, xiao3cai4 always means \"side dishes.\" When I go to a restaurant in Shanghai with relatives and friends, we discuss how many xiao3cai4 we should order (in addition to appetizers, rice, and desert). When my mom cooks at home, she also tells me how many xiao3cai4 she will prepare for us. So, \u7ea2\u70e7\u8089 is one xiao3cai4, \u849c\u8338\u8c46\u82d7 is another.<\/p>\n But sometimes xiao3cai4 really means \"small dishes\" or \"appetizers.\" One good example is when Chinese people eat at a Korean restaurant, they will call those pre-entree small and cold dishes (Kimchi, toufu, etc.) xiao3cai4. But this use has a non-Shanghainese origin.<\/p>\n I don't think anybody in Shanghai now uses the phrase \u5c0f\u83dc\u9986. People usually say \u996d\u5e97 (for big and more formal restaurants) and \u9910\u5385 or \u98df\u5802 (for small-size eateries). In my ears, \u83dc\u9986 is a northern word. \u5c0f\u83dc\u9986 means a small restaurant in the north.<\/p>\n 16. Linguist specializing on Cantonese who is compiling a major dictionary of the language:<\/p>\n Thanks for your material about \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928 which I've started working on. If it's a Cantonese word, then I naturally want to include it as part of my documentation of the Cantonese lexicon.<\/p>\n In checking my published references, I've found that \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928 has not been included in any of them.<\/p>\n However, \u83dc\u9928 appears as follows:<\/p>\n On page 123 of Chishima Eichi's Cantonese-Japanese Dictionary<\/i> (2005) which glosses it as \"restaurant\" (transliterated in katakana).<\/p>\n On page 431 of English-Cantonese Dictionary of Cantonese in Yale Romanization<\/i> (Chinese Univ. Press, 2008) it's one of several items meaning \"restaurant\".<\/p>\n In googling the occurrences of \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928 on Hong Kong websites and reading a number of texts that include it, I find it is used to mean \"restaurant\" and in the names of restaurants. \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928 is not limited to any particular type of cuisine, since it can serve French, Chaozhou, as well as Cantonese food.<\/p>\n At this point, the main semantic features of \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928 seem to be small-scale, intimate, homey, unpretentious, inexpensive.<\/p>\n
\n
\nI asked more than two dozen linguists, language specialists, and native speakers of various Chinese languages how they understood xi\u01ceo c\u00e0i gu\u01cen \u5c0f\u83dc\u9928, and also posed the following additional questions:<\/p>\n
\n11. Chinese graduate student studying in America; native of Beijing:<\/p>\n