Meaning
food; cuisine; cooked rice; meal
Chinese: 食物。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “fan” becomes a different word in each tone. 饭 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 吃饭chī fànto have a meal; to eat; to make a living
- 晚饭wǎn fànevening meal; dinner; supper
- 饭店fàn diànrestaurant; hotel
- 午饭wǔ fànlunch
- 做饭zuò fànto prepare a meal; to cook
Example Sentence
我们一家人围坐在一起吃饭。Wǒ men yì jiā rén wéi zuò zài yì qǐ chī fàn.Our family sits together around the table to eat.
我们Wǒ menwe一家人yì jiā rénthe whole family围坐wéi zuòto sit in a circle在一起zài yì qǐtogether吃饭chī fànto have a meal。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The food radical 饣 (meaning) plus 反 (fǎn, sound): something to eat — ‘cooked rice / a meal’. Simplified from 飯.
A way to remember it
Food (饣) + the sound 反 — a meal.
Easy to confuse with
- 反‘Opposite’: the right-hand sound part of 饭, on its own.