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Aceno1 Posted 16 years ago
Vocabulary

Orange and tangerine,how to distinguish these two words?

Hello everyone, I have a question about that how would you distinguish if there are one orange and the other one tangerine?

I asked an American some weeks before,and he told me that tangerine would be a very special word for American natives and he said even himself has no idea how to make a difference between these two species of fruits if simultaneously there they are.

I looked up to the Merriam-webster Dictionary ,finding different definitions given clearly by which says tangerine is "loose-skinned" while orange does has a "rind". And also I 've got another answer that I was told by a Finnish friend who said "to speak Mandarin orange instead of tangerine is more common..."

They made me confused totally,just wonder If it is correct to use orange to express all the orange-like

or related fruit then how to make a difference between these two species of fruits if simultaneously there they are.

Thanks in advance to everyone !Emotion: smile
  

Top answer

Tangerines, clementines and mandarins are all very similar to each other. They are smaller than oranges and easier to peel. Clementines are seedless.

— Khoff

  • Tangerines, clementines and mandarins are all very similar to each other.
  • They are smaller than oranges and easier to peel.
  • Clementines are seedless.
  • Tangerines have a slightly different taste; the others taste more like oranges.
  • ) are usually canned.
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9 Answers
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Tangerines, clementines and mandarins are all very similar to each other. They are smaller than oranges and easier to peel. Clementines are seedless. Tangerines have a slightly different taste; the others taste more like oranges. Mandarin oranges (in the U.S.) are usually canned.
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There are many varieties of citrus that have been cultivated and enjoyed for their fruit and juice. The tangerine is a popular fruit at Christmas and Chinese New Year. Tangerine is a variety of Mandarin.

http://en.wik
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Thanks Khoff, of course I know their difference biologically ,but I meant how do u usually say those slightly different fruits like tangerines and oranges? would you just say "oranges" for all or would you say them with different words?
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I call it "citrus fruit" when not being specific about the species.
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aceno1how do u you usually say those slightly different fruits like tangerines and oranges?
Say tangerines when you are talking about tangerines and orangeswhen you are talking about oranges. In the grocery store I go to, the two are labeled as such when on display in the store. The prices may differ, of course. In this store if you
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Thanks a heap to CJ!that was a clear answer,I got it !

And also thanks AlpheccaStar,yours' brief.

Emotion: big smile
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Okay, just to confuse this thread Aceno, here in the USA most folks who do NOT grow citrus refer to any orange (sweet, navel, blood, sour) as an orange. In our grocery stores you typically see Valencia oranges, which can be eaten in hand or squeezed for juice (they are our #1 sweet orange used for juicing), as well as navel oranges, which are better eaten out of hand and are seedless. You will
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AnonymousFor those of us that grow citrus, we never call them tangerines, but call them what they really are, mandarins :-)
There's an essentialist among us!
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But what about the colours?

Orange is a colour, tangerine is a colour. Mandarin and clementine are not colours.

Fans of the English soccer club, Blackpool, get very upset if their team is described as playing in "orange" shirts. They play in tangerine shirts.
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