(fàn) - cooked rice, meal, food in Mandarin
fànTraditional: 飯
Translation
cooked rice, meal, food
Word origin
A phono-semantic character: the food radical 饣 carries the meaning, while 反 (fǎn) supplies the sound.
- Origin
- phono-semantic
- Root
- 饣 (food) + 反 (fǎn, phonetic)
Stroke order
饭
Examples
。
We eat at half past six.
。
The food at this place is very good.
。
Mum is cooking in the kitchen.
？
Did you have breakfast today?
碗，。
One bowl of rice is enough, thank you.
饭 (fàn) is cooked rice, and by extension a meal of any kind. 吃饭 is the ordinary way to say eat, whether or not rice is anywhere near the table, and 做饭 is to cook. The three meals split out as 早饭, 午饭 and 晚饭.
The food radical 饣 on the left marks it out as one of a family: 饿 hungry, 饱 full, 饺 dumpling. Spotting that radical is worth more than memorising the character on its own, because it tells you a whole cluster of kitchen vocabulary at a glance.
The trap for English speakers is the split between 饭 and 米. 米 is the raw grain you buy in a sack; 饭 is what comes out of the cooker. Ask a shopkeeper for 饭 and you have asked for a portion of dinner. There is also the wider sense to watch: 请你吃饭 is an invitation to a meal, not a promise of a bowl of rice.
Where this fits
Used in
Grammar articles
(30)Mandarin Advanced Grammar (C1-C2 / HSK 6+): Chengyu, Classical Remnants, and Register
Mandarin Aspect Markers: 了, 在/正在, 过 - the System That Replaces Tense
The Mandarin 把 (bǎ) Construction: Fronting the Object to Say What You Did To It
The Mandarin 被 (bèi) Passive: Saying Something Was Done To the Subject
Mandarin Causatives 使 (shǐ), 令 (lìng) and 让 (ràng): Making Someone Feel or Do Something
Mandarin Grammar Cheatsheet: The Essentials, One Page
Chinese Measure Words (Mandarin Classifiers): The Core Dozen, Which One Your Noun Takes, and the Safe Default
Mandarin Co-verbs: 从, 到, 在, 用, 坐, 给 - the Prepositions That Look Like Verbs
Mandarin Verb Conjugation: Why It Doesn't Exist and What Replaces It
Mandarin Conjunctions: 虽然…但是, 因为…所以, 如果…就 and the Paired Structures That Join Clauses
The Double 了 Sentence in Mandarin: 我学了三年中文了 and the Continuing-Action Pattern
Duration Complements in Mandarin (时量补语): How to Say How Long an Action Lasts
How to Say Even Though and Even If in Mandarin: 虽然, 即使, 就算 and 尽管
Formal Mandarin Connectives: 然而, 因此, 于是 and 尽管 (The Written Register)
The Experiential 过 (guò) in Mandarin: Saying You Have Ever Done Something
Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5): Complements, Conjunctions and the Full 了 System
就 (jiù) vs 才 (cái) in Mandarin: Sooner Than Expected, Later Than Expected
The Two 了 in Mandarin: Completion 了 After the Verb vs Change-of-State 了 at the End
Mandarin Location and Existence: 在 for Where, 有 for There Is, and the 上/下/里/外 Position Words
Mandarin Modal Verbs: 会, 想, 要, 应该, 可以, 能 and the Future-Intent Words 打算, 准备
The Spoken Passives 让 (ràng), 叫 (jiào) and 给 (gěi): What People Say Instead of 被
Mandarin Potential Complements: Can You Reach the Result? (吃得完, 听不懂, 买不起)
Serial Verb Constructions in Mandarin: 我去商店买东西 and Stacking Verbs in Sequence
Topic-Comment Structure in Mandarin: Fronting 这本书我看过 and Why Word Order Bends
Mandarin Verb-Object Verbs: Why 'To Eat' Is 吃饭 and How It Splits Apart
Mandarin Sentence Structure: Word Order, Topic-Comment and the 把 Construction
又 (yòu) vs 再 (zài) vs 还 (hái) in Mandarin: The Three Ways to Say 'Again'
The Mandarin 于 (yú) Family: 对于, 关于, 由于, 至于, 属于, 位于, 终于
The Mandarin 者 (zhě) Suffix: 作者, 读者, 前者, and Naming the One Who Does It
Mandarin 之 (zhī): 之一, 之间, 之后, 之中, 总之 and the Written Ancestor of 的
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饭: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "饭" (cooked rice, meal, food): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 59.