餐 (cān): meal, to eat, classifier for meals
餐 (cān) is a Chinese character meaning “meal.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 饣 (eat). It ranks #1456 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 餐 food. Its radical form 饣 (eat) appears in many related characters such as 饭 (fàn, meal, rice), 饿 (è, hungry), 馆 (guǎn, restaurant, hall).
Definitions
- meal
- to eat
- classifier for meals
Etymology & Origin
pictophoneticfood
Decomposition: ⿱⿰歺又食 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 餐 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 餐
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 晚餐noun | wǎn cān | evening meal | 4 |
| 午餐noun | wǔ cān | lunch | 4 |
| 餐厅noun | cān tīng | dining hall | 4 |
| 早餐noun | zǎo cān | breakfast | 4 |
| 用餐verb | yòng cān | to eat a meal | 6 |
| 快餐noun | kuài cān | fast food | 4 |
| 中餐noun | zhōng cān | lunch | 4 |
| 套餐noun | tào cān | set meal | 6 |
| 聚餐verb | jù cān | communal meal | 4 |
| 餐饮noun | cān yǐn | food and beverage | 5 |
| 西餐noun | xī cān | Western-style food | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 餐馆 | cān guǎn | restaurant |
| 野餐 | yě cān | picnic |
| 大餐 | dà cān | sumptuous meal |
| 餐桌 | cān zhuō | dining table |
| 餐具 | cān jù | tableware |
| 自助餐 | zì zhù cān | buffet |
| 餐巾 | cān jīn | napkin |
| 快餐店 | kuài cān diàn | fast food shop |
| 进餐 | jìn cān | to have a meal |
| 餐车 | cān chē | dining car |
| 正餐 | zhèng cān | (regular) meal |
| 圣餐 | shèng cān | Holy Communion |
| 午餐会 | wǔ cān huì | luncheon |
| 餐巾纸 | cān jīn zhǐ | paper napkin |
| 餐会 | cān huì | dinner party |
餐 appears in 84 compound words: 26 as the first character, 55 as the last, and 19 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 餐 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
Example Sentences
餐堂里的饭菜虽然简单，但很可口。
cān táng lǐ de fàn cài suī rán jiǎn shàn , dàn hěn kě kǒu .
The food in the cafeteria is simple but delicious.
阿里云编程套餐月费最低7.9元
ā lǐ yún biān chéng tào cān yuè fèi zuì dī 7 . 9 yuán
Alibaba Cloud programming package has a minimum monthly fee of 7.9 yuan
麦当劳2.23起推全新人气着数套餐 脆辣鸡腿饱餐首次加入 黄泽林首拍“老麦...
mài dāng láo 2 . 2 3 qǐ tuī quán xīn rén qì zhe shǔ tào cān cuì là jī tuǐ bǎo cān shǒu cì jiā rù huáng zé lín shǒu pāi lǎo mài . . .
McDonald's launches a new popular set meal from 2.23 Crispy and spicy chicken thighs to the full meal for the first time Huang Zelin's first shot "Lao Mai...
独家/疑不满出餐太慢! 复古咖啡厅男乱泼美式
dú jiā yí bù mǎn chū cān tài màn ! fù gǔ kā fēi tīng nán luàn pō měi shì
Exclusive/Suspected that the food is too slow! Retro café men splash American style
麦当劳全新人气着数套餐优惠!脆辣鸡腿饱餐减$10 麦乐鸡/麦炸...
mài dāng láo quán xīn rén qì zhe shǔ tào cān yōu huì ! cuì là jī tuǐ bǎo cān jiǎn 1 0 mài lè jī mài zhà . . .
McDonald's new popular set meal discount! Crispy and spicy chicken thighs $10 off McNuggets/McNuggets...
9人吃2万 杨绣惠揭冲绳餐厅规定:被当盘子
9 rén chī 2 wàn yáng xiù huì jiē chōng shéng cān tīng guī dìng : bèi dāng pán zǐ
9 people eat 20,000 Yang Xiuhui revealed the rules of the Okinawan restaurant: being used as a plate
你早餐吃了些什么？
Nǐ zǎocān chī le xiē shénme?
What did you eat for breakfast?
你今早有没有吃早餐？
Nǐ jīn zǎo yǒuméiyǒu chī zǎocān?
Did you have breakfast this morning?
为什么玛丽和他去野餐？
Wèishénme Mǎlì hé tā qù yěcān?
How come Mary is going on a picnic with him?
你可以把我的早餐送到305房间吗？
Nǐ kěyǐ bǎ wǒ de zǎocān sòng dào 305 fángjiān ma?
Could you bring my breakfast to room 305?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 餐 (cān) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 餐 have?
What is the radical of 餐?
What are common words containing 餐?
What characters sound the same as 餐 (cān)?
Is 餐 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 餐 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.