花椒, photo 1 of 2
花椒, photo 2 of 2

Photo credit

Photo
Sichuan pepper
By
Matt K
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Source
Wikimedia Commons
Changes
Cropped and resized

Photo credit

Photo
广西南宁花椒
By
Walter Grassroot
Licence
CC0
Source
Wikimedia Commons
Changes
Cropped and resized

花椒

huājiāo
noun #66,306

Meanings

  1. 1 Sichuan pepper
  2. 2 Chinese prickly ash

About the ingredient

调料 Seasonings

The dried red husks of the prickly ash berry. They make the lips tingle and go numb rather than burn, the 麻 in 麻辣.

Also called  川椒

Examples

HSK 4
Zhè dào cài fàng le hěnduō huājiāo.
This dish has a lot of Sichuan pepper in it.
HSK 7-9
Huājiāo huì ràng shétou fāmá.
Sichuan pepper makes your tongue tingle and go numb.
HSK 7-9
Mápó dòufu shǎobuliǎo huājiāo.
You can't make mapo tofu without Sichuan pepper.

Tips

culture
花椒 produces the tongue-tingling 麻 (má) sensation that defines Sichuan cuisine. The 麻辣 (málà) combo pairs this numbing effect with chili heat.

Stroke Order

花 huā
椒 jiāo