要饭 (yào fàn) — to beg (for food or money) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

要饭 is an intransitive verb meaning 'to beg' specifically for food or money — closer to 'to panhandle' than the more general 求.

verb

to beg (for food or money)

Easily confused

要犯yào fànsound-alikeimportant criminal, principal offender

Examples

要饭。
Tā yǐ qián shì yào fàn de.
He used to be a beggar.
。
Tā zài jiē shàng yào le sān tiān fàn.
He begged on the street for three days.
要饭。
Hěn duō yào fàn de rén zhù zài qiáo xià miàn.
Many beggars live under the bridge.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

要yàoask for

要 (ask for) and 饭 (food) combine to mean asking for food, i.e. begging.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

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.

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