吃飯

Chinese

Pronunciation

Verb

吃⫽飯 (verb-object) (intransitive)

1. to eat

   用筷子吃飯／用筷子吃饭  ―  yòng kuàizi chīfàn  ―  to eat with chopsticks

   他很喜歡吃飯。／他很喜欢吃饭。  ―  Tā hěn xǐhuān chīfàn.  ―  He loves to eat.

   你吃飯了嗎？／你吃饭了吗？  ―  Nǐ chīfàn le ma?  ―  Have you eaten? (also a greeting)

   你吃過飯嗎？／你吃过饭吗？  ―  Nǐ chī guò fàn ma?  ―  Have you eaten? (also a greeting)

   你吃飯了沒有？／你吃饭了没有？  ―  Nǐ chīfàn le méiyǒu?  ―  Have you eaten? (also a greeting)

2. to have a meal; to eat; to dine

   我想約你明天一起去吃飯，不知道你有沒有時間。 [MSC, trad.]
   我想约你明天一起去吃饭，不知道你有没有时间。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ xiǎng yuē nǐ míngtiān yīqǐ qù chīfàn, bù zhīdào nǐ yǒu méiyǒu shíjiān.

   I'd like to invite you out to have a meal tomorrow, if you have time.

   你們收拾收拾，準備吃飯嘍。 [MSC, trad.]
   你们收拾收拾，准备吃饭喽。 [MSC, simp.]

   Nǐmen shōushi shōushi, zhǔnbèi chīfàn lou.

   Pack up you lot and get ready to eat.

3. to make a living

   你靠什麼吃飯？／你靠什么吃饭？  ―  Nǐ kào shénme chīfàn?  ―  What do you do for a living?

   我現在失業，除了交房租，還要吃飯啊，壓力大啊。 [MSC, trad.]
   我现在失业，除了交房租，还要吃饭啊，压力大啊。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ xiànzài shīyè, chúle jiāo fángzū, hái yào chīfàn a, yālì dà a.

   I'm out of work at the moment. Apart from paying rent I also have to make a living; it's very stressful.

Usage notes

Chinese people sometimes use the sentence 你吃飯了嗎？／你吃饭了吗？  ―  Nǐ chīfàn le ma?  ―  Have you eaten? as a greeting. Its function is roughly equivalent to How’s it going? or How are you? in English.

Synonyms

• (to eat): (Sichuan) 吃伙食; (Hokkien) 唅飯／唅饭, 含飯／含饭; (Xiang) 𡎺冤枉

• (to have a meal):

Descendants

• → Spanish: chifa (“Chinese restaurant”)

See also

• 喝 (hē)