便餐 (biàn cān) — simple meal, light meal

Definition

便餐 (biàncān) means a quick, simple, light meal — usually inexpensive and not elaborate. It focuses on convenience and value rather than taste or presentation.

noun
simple meallight meal
Measure word · 顿

Examples

  • 便餐。
    Zhōng wǔ wǒ zhī chī le yí gè biàn cān.
    I only had a simple meal at noon.
  • 便餐。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng tí gōng jīng jì shí huì de biàn cān.
    This restaurant offers affordable light meals.
  • 便餐。
    Chū chāi shí wǒ jīng cháng zài jiǔ diàn chī biàn cān.
    When on business trips, I often eat simple meals at the hotel.

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.

便biànsimple
餐cānmeal

便餐 pairs 便 simple with 餐 meal, giving a light or ordinary meal.

Characters in this word

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

便 pairs 亻 (person) with 更 (to change), showing a person changing posture to become comfortable.

Open 便 →

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 →

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