Chinese word

饭

Pronunciation

Pinyinfàn

Meaning

  • nounmeal

Example

我还没吃饭。wǒ hái méi chī fàn

I haven't had a meal yet.

Illustration for 饭 (meal)

More examples

我们一起吃饭吧。wǒ men yì qǐ chī fàn ba

Let's have a meal together.

Core concept

One serving of cooked rice stands for the larger eating occasion, linking a familiar food with a meal and its shared time.

Common phrases

  • 吃饭chī fàn

    have a meal

  • 吃完饭chī wán fàn

    finish a meal

  • 做饭zuò fàn

    make a meal

Similar words

米饭mǐ fàn: Cooked rice served as a main staple food.
午饭wǔ fàn: The meal eaten around the middle of the day.
晚饭wǎn fàn: The meal eaten in the evening.
早饭zǎo fàn: The meal eaten in the morning.

Definition in Chinese

指煮熟的粮食，尤指作为主食的米饭；也可泛指一顿饭或吃饭的动作。zhǐ zhǔ shú de liáng shí yóu zhǐ zuò wéi zhǔ shí de mǐ fàn yě kě fàn zhǐ yí dùn fàn huò chī fàn de dòng zuò

Word origin

饭 (fàn, "cooked grain or meal") originally referred to cooked grain, and its meaning later extended naturally from the food itself to a meal.

Usage tips

  • 吃饭了吗 (chī fàn le ma, "Have you eaten?") can work as a friendly everyday greeting, not only as a literal question about food.

Other meanings

  • ricenoun

Related words

Word lists with this word