食量 (shí liàng) — appetite; capacity for eating

Definition

noun
appetitecapacity for eating

Examples

  • 食量。
    Tā de shí liàng hěn dà.
    His appetite is very big.
  • 食量。
    Zuì jìn wǒ de shí liàng biàn xiǎo le.
    My appetite has become smaller recently.
  • 食量。
    Zhè ge xiǎo hái zi de shí liàng bǐ dà rén hái dà.
    This little child's appetite is even bigger than an adult's.

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.

食shíeat
量liángcapacity

食 points to eating, 量 to capacity, so it captures how much one can eat.

Characters in this word

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.

Open 食 →

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

  • 日日rìsun
  • 東東dōngbag; east

量 has 日 (sun) over 東 (bag; east). Some explanations suggest measuring under the sun or the sun rising in the east, but the exact origin is unclear.

Open 量 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.