“The food/dish In English “dish” and “food” are two separate concepts with a clear line between them. Chinese never drew that line. 菜 (cài) just refers to the stuff you eat at a meal — it doesn’t care whether you’re thinking of it as a prepared dish or as food in general. The word sits in a space that English splits into two. So when you translate it you have to pick a side, but in Chinese there’s no side to pick — it’s all just 菜 (cài). The meaning isn’t double, the English translation just can’t fit it in one word.
