Choy Sum
/ˈtʃɔɪ ˌsʌm/noun
A Chinese leafy vegetable, especially the flowering shoots of plants in the mustard family.
Did you know?Choy sum is an English rendering of Cantonese 菜心, whose second character also appears in dim sum, literally “touch the heart.”
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Chinese
Old Chinese
菜心
“Vegetable heart; the tender central part of a vegetable”
Medieval Chinese
Middle Chinese
tsʰaɪH sjəm
“Historical pronunciations associated with the characters 菜心”
19th Century
Cantonese
coi3 sam1
“Cantonese pronunciation of 菜心, literally “vegetable heart””
19th–20th Century
English
choy sum
“Anglicized spelling of the Cantonese name for the leafy vegetable”
Modern English
English
choy sum
“A leafy Chinese mustard green commonly used in stir-fries and soups”