吃chīto eat; to consume
吃 (chī) means "to eat" or "to consume." You use it for eating food or a meal, as in 吃饭 (to eat a meal) and 吃晚饭 (to have dinner). It is a verb. This entry covers that one sense: to eat or consume something.
What does 吃 mean?
- 1.
to eat; to consumeverb
What does the character 吃 mean?
- 吃to eat; to consume
How do you use 吃?
See it in 吃饭, 吃晚饭 and 不吃肉.
Patterns
吃 + food
我不吃肉。
Wǒ bù chī ròu.
I don't eat meat.
去 + 吃 + meal
我们一起去吃晚饭吧。
Wǒmen yìqǐ qù chī wǎnfàn ba.
Let's go have dinner together.
What are some examples of 吃 in a sentence?
How is 吃 used in a conversation?
- Speaker A:
你吃饭了吗?
Nǐ chī fàn le ma?
Have you eaten?
- Speaker B:
还没有。你呢?
Hái méiyǒu. Nǐ ne?
Not yet. You?
- Speaker A:
我也没吃。我们一起去吃吧。
Wǒ yě méi chī. Wǒmen yìqǐ qù chī ba.
Me neither. Let's go eat together.
- Speaker B:
好啊,走吧!
Hǎo a, zǒu ba!
Sure, let's go!
Can you use 吃 correctly?
0 of 3 answeredWhat should you learn next?
- Free HSK 3 level testSee which HSK 3.0 level your vocabulary matches.
- HSK 1 word listEvery word at this level, with examples.
- HSK 3.0 guideHow the nine levels and three bands work.
Related words
- 喜欢xǐ huanto like; to be fond ofHSK 1
- 想xiǎngto desire; to want (to)HSK 1
- 要yàoto want; to need; to ask forHSK 1
- 东西dōng xithing; stuff; personHSK 1
- 上班shàng bānto go to work; to go to the officeHSK 1
- 买mǎito buy; to purchaseHSK 1
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English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.