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吃喝玩乐 (chī hē wán lè) — to eat, drink, and be merry; to indulge in a life of pleasure

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'eat, drink, and be merry' — used for a life of pleasure or indulgence. The verbs 吃 and 喝 are neutral; 食用 is the formal written 'to consume', and 吃喝玩乐 is the casual phrase for leisure itself.

phrase
to eatdrinkand be merryto indulge in a life of pleasure

Examples

  • 吃喝玩乐，。
    Tā zhěng tiān zhī zhī dào chī hē wán lè, cóng bù kǎo lǜ wèi lái.
    He only knows how to eat, drink, and be merry all day, never thinking about the future.
  • 吃喝玩乐。
    Jià qī lǐ wǒ men hǎo hǎo chī hē wán lè le yì fān.
    We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves eating, drinking, and having fun during the holiday.
  • 吃喝玩乐，。
    Nián qīng rén bù néng zhī zhuī qiú chī hē wán lè, hái yào nǔ lì gōng zuò.
    Young people shouldn't just pursue pleasure; they also need to work hard.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

吃喝eat and drink
吃chīeat喝hēdrink
联合Coordinate
玩乐play and enjoy
玩wánplay乐lèenjoy
联合Coordinate

吃喝玩乐 joins 吃, 喝, 玩, and 乐 to mean eating, drinking, playing, and enjoying.

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
乞
乞qǐ吃chī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

吃 combines 口 (mouth) with 乞, which gives the sound; it originally wrote a word meaning to stutter.

Open 吃 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
曷
曷hé喝hē
Same sound today

The 口 part is a mouth. The 曷 part gives the sound.

Open 喝 →

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
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
元
元yuán玩wán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

玩 pairs 玉 (jade) with 元 (yuán) for sound. The jade part points to toys made of jade.

Open 玩 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樂; 乐 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 樂, 絲 (string) with 木 (wood) shows strings on a piece of wood, a musical instrument; the simplified 乐 is a later shorthand.

Open 乐 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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