Chinese word

顿

Pronunciation

Pinyindùn

Meaning

  • measure wordmeal

Example

我们吃了一顿饭。wǒ men chī le yí dùn fàn

We had a meal.

Illustration for 顿 (meal)

More examples

他中午只吃了一顿午饭。tā zhōng wǔ zhǐ chī le yí dùn wǔ fàn

At noon, he ate only one meal.

Core concept

One complete sitting or burst is treated as a single unit, whether the unit involves eating or a short, concentrated action.

Common phrases

  • 一顿饭yí dùn fàn

    one meal

  • 吃一顿饭chī yí dùn fàn

    have a meal

  • 两顿饭liǎng dùn fàn

    two meals

Similar words

次cì: Counts an event or action as one occurrence in a sequence.
回huí: Counts a completed action or event as one occasion.
份fèn: Counts one person's portion of food or one complete unit of something.

Definition in Chinese

用于计次数的进餐，如“一顿饭”；在口语中也常用于表示一次短暂而集中的动作或遭遇，常与“揍”“骂”“吃”等动词搭配。yòng yú jì cì shù de jìn cān rú yí dùn fàn zài kóu yǔ zhōng yě cháng yòng yú biǎo shì yí cì duǎn zàn ér jí zhōng de dòng zuò huò zāo yù cháng yǔ zòu mà chī děng dòng cí dā pèi

Word origin

顿 (dùn, "a pause or stopping point") developed from the idea of a pause-like unit into a counter for one meal or one brief bout.

Usage tips

  • With an action verb, this measure word frames the action as one bounded episode, not simply as one repetition, which helps explain its vivid conversational use.

Other meanings

  • timemeasure word

Related words

Word lists with this word