How to say “eat” in Chinese
eat
“Eat” in Chinese is 吃, chī: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
吃 is read chī. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
On the left, 口 “mouth”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “吃”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 吃. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你吃饭吗nǐchīfànmaAre you going to eat?
- 你几点吃早饭nǐjǐdiǎnchīzǎofànWhat time do you have breakfast?
- 我八点吃早饭wǒbādiǎnchīzǎofànI have breakfast at eight.
- 我们晚上八点吃晚饭wǒmenwǎnshangbādiǎnchīwǎnfànWe have dinner at 8 p.m.
- 我想吃面条儿wǒxiǎngchīmiàntiáorI'd like some noodles.
- 这个菜很好吃zhègecàihěnhǎochīThis dish is very tasty.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Breakfast, lunch, dinner”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “eat” in Chinese?
“Eat” in Chinese is 吃, pinyin chī.
What does 吃 mean?
吃 (chī) means “eat”.
How do you write 吃?
吃 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 吃?
吃 is read chī. Tones: chī — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“eat” in the lesson “Breakfast, lunch, dinner”
This word is from the topic “Time and the day” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free