干饭 (gān fàn) — (colloquial) cooked rice; meal; (slang, verb-like) to eat (enthusiastically); to chow down

Definition

干饭 literally means 'dry rice' but is internet slang for enthusiastically eating a meal — 'chow down' or 'eat up'. Compare with 吃饭, the neutral everyday word for eating a meal.

noun
(colloquial) cooked ricemeal(slang, verb-like) to eat (enthusiastically)to chow down
Measure word · 顿

Examples

  • 干饭。
    Jīn tiān shí táng de gān fàn tè bié xiāng.
    The rice at the cafeteria today is especially fragrant.
  • ，干饭！
    Zǒu, gān fàn qù!
    Come on, let's go eat!
  • 干饭。
    Tā měi cì chī fàn dōu xiàng zài gān fàn yí yàng.
    Every time he eats, it's like he's chowing down.

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.

干gāndry
饭fànrice/meal

干 conveys dryness and 饭 denotes rice or meal, together naming cooked rice.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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.

Open 饭 →

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