啤酒花 (pí jiǔ huā) literally means 'beer flower' and refers to the hop plant (Humulus lupulus), a climbing perennial vine whose female flowers are used in brewing beer for their bittering, flavoring, and preservative properties. Though not a flower in the culinary sense, the term highlights its botanical origin and functional role—'啤' points to beer, '酒' reinforces the alcoholic beverage context, and '花' identifies the specific part of the plant used: the cone-shaped inflorescences.

In Chinese, 啤酒花 is a technical but widely understood term in food science, brewing, and botany. It appears in ingredient lists, agricultural reports, and craft-beer discussions. Unlike English, where 'hops' is uncountable, 啤酒花 can be used with measure words like '克' (grams) or '朵' (flowers) depending on context—though '朵' is rare and mostly poetic; '克' or '公斤' is standard in practical usage.