饭菜 (fàn cài) — meal; food (as a whole, including staple and di… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

mealfood (as a whole, including staple and dishes)

Measure word · 份

Examples

饭菜。
Jīn tiān de fàn cài hěn fēng shèng.
Today's meal is very sumptuous.
饭菜。
Mā ma zuò de fàn cài zuì hǎo chī.
The food my mom makes is the most delicious.
饭菜。
Zhè jiā cān tīng de fàn cài jià gé hé lǐ.
The food at this restaurant is reasonably priced.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

饭fànrice/staple

饭 (rice/staple) and 菜 (dishes) together refer to the food of a 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飯; 饭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

食食shífood

Sound part声符shēngfú

反

反fǎn飯fàn

Same sound today

The traditional form 飯 combines 食 (food) with 反 for the sound; the simplified 饭 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical form.

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

艹采菜

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

采

采cǎi菜cài

Same sound today

菜 has 艹 (grass/plants) on top and 采 below; the top part shows it is a plant, while 采 gives the sound.

Appears in

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