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韭菜

Mandarin · pinyin jiǔ cài

garlic chives (Allium tuberosum), aka Chinese chives
(coll.) naive or easily exploited people (esp. small investors or consumers), likened to chives that can be repeatedly harvested for profit

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Characters in this entry

韭: jiǔ · scallion, leek; Kangxi radical 179
菜: cài · vegetables; dish, order; food

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–4 · jiu3 cai4

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gau2 coi3

Cantonese word readings for 韭菜. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

garlic chive; Chinese chive; Chinese leek (Allium tuberosum)
(Mainland China, neologism, figurative, Internet slang) someone who can be repeatedly deceived and exploited, especially by the stock market or the government; dupe; shitizen

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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