餐厅 (cān tīng) — restaurant; dining hall | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

餐厅 is a general word for 'restaurant' (place you pay to eat). It's broader than 食堂 ('cafeteria', usually for a workplace or school) and more neutral than 酒楼 (a traditional sit-down banquet restaurant).

noun

restaurantdining hall

Measure word · 间, 家

Examples

餐厅。
Zhè jiā cān tīng de fú wù hěn hǎo.
The service at this restaurant is very good.
餐厅。
Tā měi tiān zài cān tīng gōng zuò.
He works at a restaurant every day.
餐厅。
Nà jiān cān tīng lí xué xiào hěn jìn.
That dining hall is very close to the school.

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.

餐 refers to meals and 厅 is a hall, so it means a hall for meals.

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.

𣦼食餐

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.”

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 廳; 厅 is its simplified writing.

广聽廳

Meaning part形符xíngfú

广广guǎnghouse

Sound part声符shēngfú

聽

聽tīng廳tīng

Same sound today

The traditional form 廳 pairs 广 (house) with 聽, which gives the sound; the simplified 厅 is a shorthand and its parts are not the original ones.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Dining & Restaurants 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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