餐盒 (cān hé) — lunch box; meal container (often disposable or takeout box)

Definition

noun
lunch boxmeal container (often disposable or takeout box)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 餐盒。
    Zhè ge cān hé kě yǐ fàng jìn wēi bō lú jiā rè.
    This lunch box can be placed in the microwave to heat up.
  • 餐盒。
    Tā měi tiān dài yí gè cān hé qù gōng sī.
    He brings a lunch box to the office every day.
  • 餐盒。
    Wài mài cān hé yì bān yòng sù liào zuò de.
    Takeout meal boxes are usually made of plastic.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

餐cānmeal
盒hébox

餐 points to a meal, 盒 to a container, yielding a box for food.

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
食食shíto eat; meal; food
Sound part声符shēngfú
𣦼
𣦼𣦼餐cān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

餐 combines 食, meaning food or eating, with 𣦼 as the sound part; it originally meant “to swallow.”

Open 餐 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 盒 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.