夜宵 (yè xiāo) — midnight snack; late-night snack | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A late-night meal eaten after the regular dinner, usually around or after midnight. Unlike 零食 or 小吃 (general snacks), 夜宵 specifically refers to food eaten at night.

noun

midnight snacklate-night snack

Measure word · 份

Examples

夜宵。
Jiā bān hòu wǒ men qù chī yè xiāo ba.
Let's go get a midnight snack after overtime.
夜宵。
Jiē biān nà jiā yè xiāo tān tè bié yǒu míng.
That late-night snack stall on the street is especially famous.
夜宵。
Tā měi tiān wǎn shàng dōu yào chī yè xiāo cái shuì dé zhe.
He has to eat a midnight snack every night before he can fall asleep.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

夜 and 宵 both point to night, naming the late-night meal.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

夕夕xīmoon

Sound part声符shēngfú

亦

亦yì夜yè

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 夜 pairs 亦 as a sound part with 夕 as a moon part, for night. In the modern shape, the 亦 part is broken up and one stroke merges into 夕.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

宀肖宵

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào宵xiāo

Same sound today

宵 pairs 宀 (roof) with 肖, a part that gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Food (General)

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