Chinese Phrases Related to 吃, Eating

China has very interesting “eating” culture. If you stay in China for a long time, you will find people greet others with the phrase “你吃了吗？ nǐ chī le ma? (Have you eaten yet?)”. Especially around meal time, you can hear the following dialogue quite often.

Dialogue

nǐ chī le mɑ ？

你吃了吗？

Have you eaten?

chī le, nǐne？

吃了，你呢？

Yes. How about you?

wǒ yě chī le.

我也吃了。

I have too.

Why do Chinese care so much about “eating”? A popular saying is that in the old days, China was too poor to feed its people. By asking others’ “eating” condition, it means you care for the person you are addressing. Even though food is plentiful in nowadays China, this tradition is carried on till now.

China’s “eating” culture is not only shown in the way of greeting, but in its language. In Chinese, there are many terms related to “eating.”

1

chī kuī

吃亏

to suffer losses

e.g.

tā hěn lǎoshi, jīnɡchánɡ chīkuī.

他很老实，经常吃亏。

He is very honest and often suffers losses.

2

chī cù

吃醋

to be jealous

e.g.

tāde nǚpénɡyǒu hěn ài chīcù.

他的女朋友很爱吃醋。

His girlfriend gets jealous very easily.

3

chī lì

吃力

to have difficulty

e.g.

tā xuéxí hěn chīlì.

他学习很吃力。

He has difficulty with his studies.

4

chī dé kāi

吃得开

to be popular/get along all right

e.g.

xiǎolì zài xīn ɡōnɡsī hěn chīdékāi.

小丽在新公司很吃得开。

Xiao Li is getting along all right in her new company.

5

chī bù xiāo

吃不消

be unable to stand (exertion, fatigue, etc.)

e.g.

ɡōnɡzuò tàiduōle, wǒ yǒudiǎn’r chībùxiāo.

工作太多了，我有点儿吃不消。

The work is too much for me to take.

6

chī xiǎo zào

吃小灶

to enjoy privilege

e.g.

zài xuéxiào, lǎoshī jīnɡchánɡ ɡěitā chīxiǎozào.

在学校，老师经常给他吃小灶。

The teacher always let him enjoy privilege at school.

7

chī lǎo běn

吃老本

to live off one’s past gains

e.g.

nǐ yīnɡɡāi ɡōnɡzuò, bù yīnɡɡāi chīlǎoběn.

你应该工作，不应该吃老本。

You should be working instead of living on your savings.

8

chī dòu fǔ

吃豆腐

to take advantage of (a female)

e.g.

bù hǎo yì si, wǒ búshì ɡùyì yào chī nǐ dòufu.

不好意思，我不是故意要吃你豆腐。

Sorry, I did not mean to take advantage of you.