Breakdown of zhè jiā fàndiàn de cài gēn chāoshì lǐ de shūcài yíyàng xīnxiān.
Questions & Answers about zhè jiā fàndiàn de cài gēn chāoshì lǐ de shūcài yíyàng xīnxiān.
In this sentence, 家 (jiā) is a measure word (also called a classifier), not the noun “home/family.”
- 这家饭店 (zhè jiā fàndiàn) literally means “this [classifier] restaurant,” i.e. “this restaurant.”
- 家 is commonly used as a classifier for businesses or shops:
- 一家饭店 – a restaurant
- 一家银行 – a bank
- 一家公司 – a company
So here, 家 is not “home”; it’s the classifier for 饭店.
All of these refer to places where you can eat, but there are some tendencies:
饭店 (fàndiàn)
- In Mainland usage today: often means “restaurant”, sometimes slightly more formal or larger.
- In some contexts (especially older usage or in some regions), it can also mean “hotel.”
餐馆 (cānguǎn)
- A very common, neutral word for “restaurant” or “eatery.”
- Focuses on the place where you eat.
餐厅 (cāntīng)
- Literally “dining hall.”
- Can be a restaurant, but also the dining room in a house, a canteen at school, a hotel dining room, etc.
In this sentence, 这家饭店 is most naturally understood as “this restaurant.”
They overlap, but they are not exactly the same:
- 蔬菜 (shūcài) = “vegetables” in a more literal, category sense (as a food group).
- 菜 (cài) has several related meanings:
- Dish / cooked dish – 一道菜 (a dish)
- Food at a restaurant / home-cooked dishes – 饭店的菜 (the dishes / food at the restaurant)
- In some contexts, vegetables (esp. leafy greens): 买菜 (to buy groceries, often focused on veggies).
In this sentence:
- 饭店的菜 = the dishes / food served by this restaurant.
- 超市里的蔬菜 = the fresh vegetables you buy in a supermarket.
So the idea is: “The food (dishes) at this restaurant is as fresh as the vegetables in the supermarket.”
的 (de) here marks attributive relationships (something modifying a noun):
饭店的菜
- 饭店 (restaurant) + 的 + 菜 (dishes/food)
- Literally: “the restaurant’s dishes” → “the food/dishes of this restaurant.”
超市里的蔬菜
- 超市里 (in the supermarket) + 的 + 蔬菜 (vegetables)
- Literally: “the vegetables [that are] in the supermarket.”
In both, 的 links a modifier (饭店, 超市里) to the noun being described (菜, 蔬菜).
You can say 超市的蔬菜, but it changes the nuance slightly.
超市的蔬菜
- “the supermarket’s vegetables”
- Emphasis is on ownership or association with the supermarket.
超市里的蔬菜
- “the vegetables in the supermarket”
- Emphasis is on location: the veggies that are located inside the supermarket.
In everyday speech, both are understandable, but 超市里的蔬菜 sounds more natural when you’re talking about the vegetables they’re currently selling there.
In this structure, 跟 is functioning like “and” / “with” to connect the two things being compared.
- A 跟 B 一样 + adjective
- A is as [adjective] as B.
So:
- 这家饭店的菜跟超市里的蔬菜一样新鲜。
- The food at this restaurant is as fresh as the vegetables in the supermarket.
You can almost always replace 跟 with 和 (hé) in this kind of comparison:
- 这家饭店的菜和超市里的蔬菜一样新鲜。
Both are natural. 跟 is slightly more colloquial, but both are very common.
This is a very common comparison pattern:
- A 跟 B 一样 + adj.
- A is as + adj + as B
- A and B are equally + adj.
Examples:
他跟我一样高。
Tā gēn wǒ yíyàng gāo.
He is as tall as I am.这个问题跟那个问题一样难。
Zhège wèntí gēn nàge wèntí yíyàng nán.
This problem is as difficult as that one.
In your sentence:
- 这家饭店的菜 = A
- 超市里的蔬菜 = B
- 一样新鲜 = “equally fresh / as fresh”
So the structure is exactly:
A 跟 B 一样 + 新鲜.
They work together as a unit here:
- 一样 (yíyàng) = “the same,” “equal(ly),” “as …”
- 新鲜 (xīnxiān) = “fresh.”
In A 跟 B 一样新鲜, we can think of 一样 as modifying the adjective:
- 一样 + 新鲜 → “equally fresh,” “just as fresh.”
So it’s not two independent adjectives;
一样 is part of the comparison structure, and 新鲜 is the quality being compared.
When you use the pattern A 跟 B 一样 + adjective, you do not insert 是:
- ✅ 他跟我一样高。
- ❌ 他是跟我一样高。 (sounds unnatural in this simple comparison)
In this kind of sentence, 一样 + adjective itself acts like a predicate (“is equally fresh”), so no 是 is needed.
You would use 是 in other structures, like:
- 这家饭店的菜是最新鲜的。
The food at this restaurant is the freshest.
But in A 跟 B 一样 + adj, there’s no 是 between the subject and 一样.
Yes, that’s fine and natural.
Both:
- 这家饭店的菜跟超市里的蔬菜一样新鲜。
- 超市里的蔬菜跟这家饭店的菜一样新鲜。
mean the same thing: the two are equally fresh.
Chinese word order is flexible here; whichever you want to emphasize slightly more can go first, but there’s no big meaning change.
In modern standard Mandarin, when you have a phrase modifying a noun, you normally use 的:
- 超市里的 (modifier phrase)
- 蔬菜 (noun)
Without 的, 超市里蔬菜 sounds unnatural or ungrammatical in standard usage.
You can drop 的 mainly when:
- The modifier is a single monosyllabic adjective (e.g., 大人, 小孩).
- Certain set phrases where usage has fossilized.
But here 超市里 is a location phrase, not a simple adjective, so you need 的:
- ✅ 超市里的蔬菜
- ❌ 超市里蔬菜
Yes. 里 (lǐ) means “in / inside”.
- 超市 = supermarket
- 超市里 = in the supermarket / inside the supermarket
Then you attach 的 and the noun you’re describing:
- 超市里的蔬菜 = the vegetables in the supermarket.
So, structurally:
[location phrase] + 的 + [noun] → “the [noun] that is in that location.”
You’re right that 一 in isolation is first tone (yī), but it changes tone (tone sandhi) in many contexts.
Before a fourth-tone syllable (like yàng), 一 is usually pronounced in second tone:
- 一样 → yíyàng (2nd tone + 4th tone)
Other examples:
- 一个 → yí gè
- 一样好 → yíyàng hǎo
So in this sentence, 一样 should be pronounced yíyàng.
In spoken Mandarin, especially in northern accents, people often say zhèi (with a diphthong) before a classifier:
- 这家饭店 → zhèi jiā fàndiàn
This is considered a colloquial variant of zhè, and it’s very common in real speech.
- In careful / standard pronunciation, dictionaries will give zhè.
- In everyday conversation, zhèi jiā will sound perfectly natural.
Both are acceptable in practice; just be aware that zhè is the “standard” form.