碗(wǎn) - bowl; measure word for bowls of food or drink in Mandarin

碗 (wǎn) is a bowl, the everyday tableware every Chinese kitchen is stacked with. As a noun it names the object itself: 这个碗是新买的 (zhège wǎn shì xīn mǎi de), "this bowl was bought recently".

碗 (wǎn) also works as a measure word, counting servings the way English uses "a bowl of" - 一碗饭 (yì wǎn fàn) is "a bowl of rice", 一碗汤 (yì wǎn tāng) "a bowl of soup". The measure word sits between the number and the food, exactly where 个 (gè) would sit for a generic countable object, and it is the natural way to order or describe a portion at the table.

Do not confuse 碗 (wǎn) with 晚 (wǎn, "evening, late") - same pinyin and tone, completely different character and meaning. Context almost always settles it, since one is tableware and the other is a time of day.