炒饭 (chǎo fàn) — (verb-object) to fry rice; to make fried rice | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

炒饭 is a verb-object compound meaning 'to fry rice' (the cooking action); the same words name the dish 'fried rice'. It is a 离合词 — a separable verb that can split with a measure or object (炒一碗饭, 炒了饭).

verb

(verb-object) to fry riceto make fried rice

Examples

炒饭。
Mā ma zài chú fáng chǎo fàn.
Mom is frying rice in the kitchen.
，。
Tā chǎo le yì wǎn fàn, jiā le jī dàn hé huǒ tuǐ.
He fried a bowl of rice and added eggs and ham.
炒饭，。
Zhè jiā diàn de chǎo fàn hěn hǎo chī, xià cì wǒ men zài lái.
This restaurant's fried rice is delicious; we'll come again next time.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

炒chǎostir-fry

炒 stir-fries 饭, making fried rice.

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.

火少炒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

少

少shǎo炒chǎo

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape combines 火 (fire) as the meaning part with 少 as the sound part.

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.

Appears in

Cooking Grains & Staples

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