| to sustain one's life; to survive | plain; element | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (維生素) | 維生 | 素 | |
| simp. (维生素) | 维生 | 素 | |
| Literally: “element for maintaining life”. | |||
維生素
On the Chinese mainland, 維生素／维生素 (wéishēngsù) is the preferred term; 維他命／维他命 (wéitāmìng) is considered dated.
| Variety | Location | Words |
|---|---|---|
| Formal (Written Standard Chinese) | 維生素, 維他命 | |
| Northeastern Mandarin | Taiwan | 維他命, 維生素 |
| Singapore | 維他命 | |
| Central Plains Mandarin | Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan) | витамин |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | 維生素 |
| Hong Kong | 維他命 | |
| Hakka | Miaoli (N. Sixian) | 維他命 |
| Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) | 維他命 | |
| Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) | 維他命 | |
| Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) | 維他命 | |
| Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) | 維他命 | |
| Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) | 維他命 | |
| Southern Min | Xiamen | 維生素 |
| Quanzhou | 維生素 | |
| Zhangzhou | 維生素 | |
| Taipei | 維他命 GT, 維生素 GT, bi-tá-bín GT | |
| Wu | Shanghai | 維他命 |
| Note | GT - General Taiwanese (no specific region identified) | |