What does goji mean?
Goji is the English name commonly given to the red fruit of the Chinese wolfberry, a shrub belonging to the genus Lycium. The fresh berries are edible, but they are most often encountered dried and used in foods such as salads, desserts, teas, and juices. Goji also has a long history in traditional Chinese medicine, although modern commercial claims about its supposed health benefits should be assessed separately from established evidence. The term can refer to the fruit or, less commonly in everyday usage, to the plant that produces it. It is normally used in English as a mass noun, while goji berries is the usual way to refer to individual pieces of fruit. In contemporary English, goji is especially associated with health foods and international marketing, but it is also simply the ordinary culinary name for the berry.
nounGoji is the red or reddish-orange fruit of the Chinese wolfberry, a shrub of the genus Lycium. The berries are eaten fresh or dried and are used in teas, juices, foods, and traditional herbal preparations.
- The red or reddish-orange fruit of Chinese wolfberry, eaten fresh or dried and used in food and herbal preparations.
- The Chinese wolfberry plant itself, especially in horticultural usage.
"She added a handful of dried goji berries to her morning smoothie."
"The recipe combines goji berries with honey, oats, and toasted almonds."
"This cultivar of goji produces particularly large fruit when grown in full sun."
Usually used when counting individual dried berries; goji berries is more common in general culinary usage.
"A handful of gojis was enough for the recipe."
Goji's global name is essentially a recording of Chinese: it was borrowed from Mandarin rather than coined in English.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of goji
The English word goji comes from Mandarin Chinese gǒuqǐ (枸杞), the name used for the Chinese wolfberry and its fruit. The Chinese name was adopted through phonetic borrowing and rendered in English as goji. The fruit became widely marketed outside China in the late twentieth century, accompanying the growth of goji juices and wellness products, while English had previously used names such as wolfberry and Chinese wolfberry. Goji has no widely established English cognate.
Related word forms
How goji is actually used
When referring to the fruit, goji is normally used as a mass noun, although the plural gojis is possible. The expression goji berries is more common in culinary and commercial contexts. The word is especially frequent in contemporary food and wellness marketing, where claims about its health benefits may be more prominent than the limited scientific evidence warrants.