(shí)

food/to eat (formal)

How 食 is written

Strokes
9
Traditional
Simplified
(unchanged)

食 has 2 readings

The pronunciation changes with the meaning, so the reading has to be learned per word.

shí
to eat; food; animal feed; eclipse
to feed

Common words using 食

美食 měishí
culinary delicacy; fine food; gourmet food
零食 língshí
between-meal nibbles; snacks
食品 shípǐn
foodstuff; food; provisions
食物 shíwù
food; CL:種|种[zhong3]
主食 zhǔshí
main food; staple (rice and noodles)
伙食 huǒshí
food; meals
挑食 tiāoshí
to be picky about food
甜食 tiánshí
dessert; sweet
節食 jiéshí
to save food; to go on a diet
糧食 liángshi
foodstuff; cereals; CL:種|种[zhong3]
素食 sùshí
vegetables; vegetarian food
肉食 ròushí
carnivorous

食 in a sentence

不要浪費食物。

Bùyào làngfèi shíwù.

“Don't waste food.”

How common is 食?

食 is the 670th most frequent character in written Chinese. Characters up to this rank account for about 81.9% of all running text.

Characters that appear with 食

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