Fluentide
Fluentide for iOS is out — get the app
HSK 3

蛋糕

cake

nounneutral
蛋
dàn4th tone
糕
gāo1st tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
dàngāo
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 3
Strokes
27
Register
neutral
Measure word
块 / 个

Stroke order for 蛋糕

蛋糕 is written with 27 strokes (蛋: 11, 糕: 16). The animation replays automatically.

What does 蛋糕 mean?

蛋糕 (dàngāo) is the general Chinese word for cake — the Western-style baked dessert with flour, eggs, sugar and usually cream or frosting.

The two characters literally read 'egg pastry,' which captures the egg-rich batter that defines the food. Use 蛋糕 for birthday cakes (生日蛋糕), cheesecakes (芝士蛋糕), cupcakes (杯子蛋糕), and most bakery cakes.

Unlike English 'cake,' which can stretch to fish cake or rice cake, 蛋糕 in Mandarin almost always refers to sweet Western-style cake; traditional Chinese rice or flour cakes use 糕 (gāo) compounds instead — 年糕 (niángāo, New Year rice cake), 月饼 (yuèbǐng) for mooncake. To order a slice, ask for 一块蛋糕 (yí kuài dàngāo).

Character by character

蛋dànegg
+
糕gāocake; pastry made from flour or rice
=
蛋糕

Memory hook: 蛋 (egg) + 糕 (pastry) = egg-pastry = cake.

Example sentences

今天是我的生日，妈妈做了一个蛋糕。

Jīntiān shì wǒ de shēngrì, māma zuò le yí ge dàngāo.

Today is my birthday, and Mom made a cake.

neutral

我想吃一块巧克力蛋糕。

Wǒ xiǎng chī yí kuài qiǎokèlì dàngāo.

I want to eat a piece of chocolate cake.

spoken

这家店的蛋糕又便宜又好吃。

Zhè jiā diàn de dàngāo yòu piányi yòu hǎochī.

This shop's cake is both cheap and tasty.

spoken

请帮我把蛋糕切成八块。

Qǐng bāng wǒ bǎ dàngāo qiē chéng bā kuài.

Please help me cut the cake into eight pieces.

neutral

孩子们都喜欢草莓蛋糕。

Háizimen dōu xǐhuan cǎoméi dàngāo.

The kids all love strawberry cake.

neutral

Common phrases with 蛋糕

生日蛋糕shēngrì dàngāobirthday cake
巧克力蛋糕qiǎokèlì dàngāochocolate cake
一块蛋糕yí kuài dàngāoa slice of cake
做蛋糕zuò dàngāoto make / bake a cake
切蛋糕qiē dàngāoto cut the cake

Synonyms

糕点gāodiǎn

糕点 is a broader category — 'pastries and cakes' as a class of food, often seen on menus or in bakery signs. 蛋糕 is one specific type of 糕点.

甜点tiándiǎn

甜点 means 'dessert' in general (ice cream, pudding, cake, fruit). 蛋糕 is one specific dessert; 甜点 covers the course.

Don't confuse 蛋糕 with

鸡蛋jīdàn

鸡蛋 is a chicken egg — the ingredient. 蛋糕 is the finished cake. The shared 蛋 confuses beginners.

年糕niángāo

年糕 is sticky rice cake eaten at Chinese New Year — savory or mildly sweet, glutinous, not at all like Western cake. Both end in 糕 but the foods are completely different.

面包miànbāo

面包 is bread, not cake. Cake is sweet and soft with eggs and cream; bread is the staple. Beginners often mix the two when ordering at a bakery.

FAQ

Acquire it by listening

Meet 蛋糕 again — in real Chinese, at your level.

Fluentide turns real news into Chinese listening at your exact level, so words like 蛋糕 show up again and again in natural sentences — with pinyin and translation every time. No flashcards. Free to start.