口粮 (kǒu liáng) — grain ration; food rations (for daily consumption)

Definition

口粮 is a formal term for a person's daily food allowance or emergency grain supply, often in military or disaster contexts. It refers to the ration itself, not a meal — contrast with everyday words like 饭 or 食物, which name food in general.

noun
grain rationfood rations (for daily consumption)

Examples

  • 口粮。
    Bù duì měi yuè gěi shì bīng fā fàng kǒu liáng.
    The army distributes rations to soldiers every month.
  • 口粮。
    Zāi qū rén mín jí xū kǒu liáng hé shuǐ.
    People in the disaster area urgently need food rations and water.
  • 口粮。
    Zhè ge cūn zi chǔ cún le sān gè yuè de kǒu liáng.
    This village has stored three months' worth of grain rations.

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.

口kǒumouth
粮liánggrain

口 (mouth) and 粮 (grain) combine to mean the grain allotted for eating.

Characters in this word

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

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →

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
米米mǐfood
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng粮liáng
Same sound today

粮 puts 米 (food) beside 良, which gives the sound liáng.

Open 粮 →

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