五谷杂粮
wǔ gǔ zá liáng
all kinds of grain and pulses; (in health advice) coarse grains
Character by character
五wǔ
five
five
谷gǔ
grains
grains
杂zá
mixed
mixed
粮liáng
grains
grains
Example
医生建议他少吃精米白面，多吃些五谷杂粮。
The doctor advised him to eat less refined rice and white flour and more mixed grains and pulses.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
The 五谷 of old texts are listed differently, usually including millet, wheat and beans. Today the phrase covers every kind of grain and pulse, and in health advice it means above all the coarse grains (杂粮): maize, millet, sorghum, oats, beans and the like. Also in the saying 人吃五谷杂粮，哪有不生病的: we are only human, so everyone falls ill.
Learn this in Lesson 135 · HSK 7–9: 菜市场里 (At the wet market)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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