化食 (huà shí) — to aid digestion, to help digest food

Definition

化食 means 'to help digest food' (a separable verb: 化…食). It refers specifically to aiding or promoting digestion, especially of food already eaten.

verb

to aid digestionto help digest food

Easily confused

，化食。
Chī wán fàn yǐ hòu zǒu yi zǒu, kě yǐ bāng zhù huà shí.
Taking a walk after meals can help aid digestion.
化食，。
Zhè ge yào néng huà yi huà shí, ràng wèi shū fu yì diǎn.
This medicine can help digest food a bit and make the stomach feel more comfortable.
，化食。
Fàn hòu hē diǎn chá, yǒu zhù yú huà shí.
Drinking some tea after meals helps with digestion.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

化huàtransform/digest

化 means to transform and 食 means food, so the phrase describes turning food into nourishment.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form behind 食 shows 亼, a mouth, together with 皀, a bowl of rice on a stand. In modern 食, the bowl part has changed shape.