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晚饭 (wǎn fàn) — dinner, evening meal

Definition

晚饭 (wǎnfàn) is the everyday word for 'dinner / evening meal.' More casual than 晚餐, which sounds more formal. Pairs naturally with 吃 and the measure word 顿.

noun
dinnerevening meal
Measure word · 份, 顿, 次, 餐

Examples

  • 晚饭。
    Wǒ chī wǎn fàn le.
    I ate dinner.
  • 晚饭？
    Nǐ chī wǎn fàn ma?
    Are you eating dinner?
  • 晚饭。
    wǎn fàn Hěn hǎo.
    Dinner is very good.

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.

晚wǎnevening
饭fànmeal

The 晚 sense of evening and the 饭 sense of meal combine for the evening meal.

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
日日rì
Sound part声符shēngfú
免
免miǎn晚wǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

晚 pairs 日, the sun part, with 免, which supplies the sound.

Open 晚 →

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 →
Appears in
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