膳食 (shàn shí) — meals; diet; food (formal, esp. in nutrition or… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal word for 'meals' or 'diet', used mainly in nutrition, medical, or institutional contexts. Compared with 食物 and 食品 (general 'food'/'food products'), it emphasizes the meals a person actually eats, not individual items.

noun

mealsdietfood (formal, esp. in nutrition or health contexts)

Examples

膳食。
Yī shēng jiàn yì tā tiáo zhěng shàn shí jié gòu.
The doctor advised him to adjust his dietary structure.
膳食。
Xué xiào shí táng tí gōng yíng yǎng shàn shí.
The school cafeteria provides nutritious meals.
膳食。
Hé lǐ de shàn shí néng zēng qiáng miǎn yì lì.
A reasonable diet can boost immunity.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

膳 (meal) and 食 (food) combine to denote daily nourishment.

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

⺼Written in full as肉ròu

Sound part声符shēngfú

善

善shàn膳shàn

Same sound today

The left part ⺼ (full form 肉) relates to meat or flesh, and the right part 善 provides the sound.

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

亼亼jímouth
皀皀jía bowl of rice on a stand

The form behind 食 shows 亼, a mouth, together with 皀, a bowl of rice on a stand. In modern 食, the bowl part has changed shape.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Food (General)

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