HSK 1 · Food

吃 chī “to eat” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 吃 means

  1. to eat
  2. to consume
  3. to eat at (a cafeteria etc)
  4. to eradicate
  5. to destroy
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to absorb
  • to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc)

How to say 吃

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale吃chī1st tone, high and level

吃 in a sentence

  1. 你今天早上吃了什么？

    Nǐ jīntiān zǎoshang chī le shénme?

    What did you eat this morning?

    Sentence #2298226 from Tatoeba

  2. 你想吃什么东西吗？

    Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme dōngxi ma?

    Do you want anything to eat?

    Sentence #1801130 from Tatoeba

  3. 我现在正在吃米饭。

    Wǒ xiànzài zhèngzài chī mǐfàn.

    I’m eating rice now.

    Sentence #2777839 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 吃 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 吃 (chī) with each of its parts in a different colour
吃chīto eat; to consume
  • 口mouth · kǒuMeaning part
  • 乞to beg · qǐSound part

口 hints at the meaning (mouth); 乞 (qǐ) hints at the sound. Compare it with chī.

How to write 吃

吃 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

吃 (chī) stroke order chart: each stroke of the character in the order you write it
Stroke order chart for 吃 (chī). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 吃

Words with 吃

好吃hǎochī · delicious小吃xiǎochī · snack吃惊chījīng · to be startled吃亏chīkuī · to lose out吃苦chīkǔ · to endure hardship吃力chīlì · strenuous

More words: Food & Drink

喝hē · to drink菜cài · dish米饭mǐfàn · cooked rice水果shuǐguǒ · fruit小吃xiǎochī · snack西红柿xīhóngshì · tomato咸xián · salted盐yán · salt

FAQs

吃 (chī) means “to eat” or “to consume”. It is an HSK 1 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it chī: chī with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 吃 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type chi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 吃 from the suggestions. Typing chi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
吃 is an HSK 1 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

Book a free intro call

Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.