正餐 (zhèng cān) — main meal (of the day, e.g. dinner or lunch); r… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

正餐 is the 'main meal' of the day (typically lunch or dinner), contrasted with 小吃 or 零食 (snacks). It implies a full, sit-down meal, not fast food or light bites.

noun

main meal (of the day, e.g. dinner or lunch)regular full meal (as opposed to a snack or fast food)

Measure word · 顿

Examples

正餐。
Wǒ měi tiān de zhèng cān dōu zài wǎn shàng qī diǎn chī.
I eat my main meal at 7 pm every day.
正餐，。
Zhè jiā cān tīng de zhèng cān hěn hǎo chī, dàn shì xiǎo chī yì bān.
The main meals at this restaurant are delicious, but the snacks are average.
正餐，。
Tā zhī chī zhèng cān, bù chī líng shí.
He only eats main meals, not snacks.

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.

The main part and the meal part combine to mean a regular full 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

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng正zhèng

Same sound today

正 pairs 止 with 丁; 止 marks the sense and 丁 gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

𣦼食餐

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.”

Appears in

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