Chinese word

晚餐

Pronunciation

Pinyinwǎn cān

Meaning

  • noundinner

Example

我们一起吃晚餐吧。wǒ men yì qǐ chī wǎn cān ba

Let's have dinner together.

Illustration for 晚餐 (dinner)

More examples

我们今晚七点一起吃晚餐。wǒ men jīn wǎn qī diǎn yì qǐ chī wǎn cān

We will have dinner together at seven tonight.

Core concept

The regular meal that marks the close of the day's eating.

Common phrases

  • 吃晚餐chī wǎn cān

    have dinner

  • 一起吃晚餐yì qǐ chī wǎn cān

    have dinner together

  • 在家吃晚餐zài jiā chī wǎn cān

    have dinner at home

Similar words

晚饭wǎn fàn: A casual evening meal, especially one eaten at home.
饭fàn: A general everyday term for rice or a whole meal.
早饭zǎo fàn: The meal eaten in the morning.
午饭wǔ fàn: The meal eaten around noon.

Definition in Chinese

傍晚或晚间吃的正餐，一般是一天中的最后一餐。bàng wǎn huò wǎn jiān chī de zhèng cān yì bān shì yì tiān zhōng de zuì hòu yì cān

Word origin

晚 (wǎn, "late; evening") + 餐 (cān, "meal") forms a time-plus-food compound for the meal eaten in the evening.

Usage tips

  • In restaurant menus and formal invitations, this noun often has a more formal tone than in ordinary family talk.

Opposites

Word lists with this word