TongTong
Sign in

馆子 (guǎn zǐ) — (colloquial) restaurant, eatery

Definition

Colloquial term for a restaurant, used in everyday speech rather than writing. Compare with 饭店 (fàndiàn), which is more neutral and covers both restaurants and hotels.

noun
(colloquial) restauranteatery
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • 馆子。
    Wǒ men jīn wǎn qù guǎn zǐ chī fàn ba.
    Let's go to a restaurant to eat tonight.
  • 馆子，。
    Tā xǐ huan xià guǎn zǐ, bù xǐ huan zài jiā zuò fàn.
    He likes to eat out and doesn't like cooking at home.
  • 馆子。
    Zhè jiā guǎn zǐ de cài hěn hǎo chī.
    The food at this restaurant is delicious.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

馆guǎnhall
子zǐcolloquial ending

“馆” suggests a hall or place, and “子” gives the colloquial feel of a restaurant.

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 館; 馆 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
飠Written in full as食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
官
官guān館guǎn
Same sound today

The traditional form 館 is made of 食, written as 飠 on the left, and 官 on the right; 官 provides the sound. The simplified 馆 is a later shorthand.

Open 馆 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
Dining & Restaurants

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