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用餐 (yòng cān) — to eat a meal (formal)

Definition

Formal verb for 'to dine / have a meal', usually in written or service contexts (signs, announcements, hotels). Just 就餐 is more bookish; 聚餐 focuses on dining together as a group.

verb
to eat a meal (formal)

Examples

  • 用餐。
    Wǒ men jīn wǎn yì qǐ yòng cān ba.
    Let's have a meal together tonight.
  • 用餐。
    Nín xū yào tí qián yù dìng yòng cān shí jiān.
    You need to reserve the dining time in advance.
  • 用餐。
    Zhè jiā cān tīng de yòng cān huán jìng hěn hǎo.
    The dining environment of this restaurant is very good.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

用yònguse, take
餐cānmeal

用 means to use or take, and 餐 means a meal, together describing the formal act of taking a 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.

用 was formed by adding a handle to an earlier form.

Open 用 →

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
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.”

Open 餐 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Daily RoutineFood (General)

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