餐 meaning and stroke order
Meal; to eat; classifier for meals
How to write 餐, stroke by stroke
16 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 餐
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- meal
- to eat
- classifier for meals
How 餐 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Food.
食 gives the meaning.
Radical: 食 (food), shared by 12 characters on this site.
How to remember 餐
The top of 餐 (cān) is 歺 next to 又, a hand, and the bottom is 食 (shí), food. Picture a hand reaching down to the food on the table, and you have a meal.
餐 is a bit more formal than 饭 (fàn) and mostly appears in compound words like 早餐 (zǎocān) breakfast, 午餐 (wǔcān) lunch, 晚餐 (wǎncān) dinner and 餐厅 (cāntīng) restaurant. It can also be a classifier for meals. Example: 我们去餐厅吃晚餐吧。(Wǒmen qù cāntīng chī wǎncān ba.) Let's go to the restaurant for dinner.
Common mistake: Learners often say 吃餐 on its own the way they would say 吃饭. That sounds wrong. Use 吃饭 for everyday 'eat a meal' and keep 餐 inside fixed words like 吃早餐. Also keep the first tone in cān and do not confuse it with 参 (cān), which means to take part.
Common words with 餐
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 晚餐 | wǎncān | evening meal; dinner | HSK 2 |
| 早餐 | zǎocān | breakfast | HSK 2 |
| 午餐 | wǔcān | lunch; luncheon | HSK 2 |
| 快餐 | kuàicān | fast food; snack | HSK 2 |
| 中餐 | zhōngcān | lunch; Chinese meal; Chinese food | HSK 2 |
| 西餐 | xīcān | Western-style food | HSK 2 |
| 套餐 | tàocān | set meal; (fig.) product or service package (e.g. for a cell phone subscription) | HSK 4 |
| 餐厅 | cāntīng | dining hall; dining room | HSK 5 |
| 餐馆 | cānguǎn | restaurant | HSK 5 |
| 餐饮 | cānyǐn | food and beverage; catering | HSK 5 |
| 野餐 | yěcān | picnic; to have a picnic | HSK 7-9 |
| 用餐 | yòngcān | to eat a meal | HSK 7-9 |
| 餐桌 | cānzhuō | dining table; dinner table | HSK 7-9 |
| 就餐 | jiùcān | to dine; to have one's meal | HSK 7-9 |
餐 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 餐
How many strokes are in 餐?
餐 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 餐 mean?
餐 (cān) means meal; to eat; classifier for meals. A common word with it is 晚餐 (wǎncān), meaning "evening meal; dinner".
How do you pronounce 餐?
餐 is pronounced cān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 餐?
The radical of 餐 is 食, which carries the idea of "food". Dictionaries list 餐 under this radical.
Is 餐 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 餐 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 餐 and 饭?
饭 (fàn) is the everyday word for a meal or cooked rice and works alone, as in 吃饭. 餐 is more formal or written and usually needs a partner, as in 早餐 or 中餐. On menus and signs you will see 餐 much more often.
How do you use 餐 as a measure word?
Put a number before it to count meals, as in 一日三餐 (yí rì sān cān), three meals a day. This sounds a bit formal. In casual speech people more often say 一顿饭 (yí dùn fàn).