The character 食 — “food”: how to write it and what it means
food; eat
The Chinese character 食 is read shí and means “food; eat”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 食
食 has 9 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 食, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 食 is made of
On the side of a character it shrinks to 饣: 饭, 饿, 饱.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 食
- 食堂canteen, cafeteriaHSK 4
- 食物foodHSK 4
- 零食snacksHSK 4
- 食品food productsHSK 4
- 美食delicious food, delicaciesHSK 4
- 主食staple foodHSK 5
- 粮食grain, food suppliesHSK 5
- 饮食diet, food and drinkHSK 5
- 食用eat, consumeHSK 5
- 食欲appetiteHSK 6
- 衣食住行clothing, food, housing, transportHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 食?
食 has 9 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 食 mean?
食 means “food; eat”. It appears in 食堂 (“canteen”), 食物 (“food”), 零 食 (“snacks”), 食品 (“food products”).
How do you pronounce 食?
食 is read shí. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 食 have?
9 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 食 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free