TraceHanzi

中餐 meaning in English

zhōngcān

lunch; Chinese meal; Chinese food

HSK 2noun20 strokes

Meaning of 中餐

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

zhōngcān
  1. lunch
  2. Chinese meal; Chinese food

Measure word: 份,頓|顿

How to use 中餐

The most common meaning today is Chinese food, often contrasted with 西餐 (xīcān), Western food. It can also mean lunch, though 午饭 (wǔfàn) is more common for that in everyday speech. Example: 我们今天吃中餐吧。(Wǒmen jīntiān chī zhōngcān ba.) Let's eat Chinese food today.

中 (zhōng) means middle and also stands for China, as in 中国 (Zhōngguó), while 餐 (cān) means meal. So 中餐 is either the meal in the middle of the day or the meal from the Middle Kingdom, China.

Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 中饭 (zhōngfàn) and 中餐 as if they always mean the same thing. 中饭 only means lunch, but 中餐 usually means Chinese cuisine, so 我喜欢中餐 means "I like Chinese food," not "I like lunch."

中餐 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

我wǒ们men点diǎn了le中zhōng餐cān。
We ordered Chinese.
你nǐ知zhī道dào公gōng园yuán街jiē上shàng往wǎng前qián有yǒu家jiā中zhōng餐cān馆guǎn吗ma？
Did you know there used to be a Chinese restaurant on Park Street?
中zhōng餐cān常cháng有yǒu米mǐ饭fàn或huò面miàn条tiáo。
Lunch is often rice or pasta.
我wǒ以yǐ前qián从cóng来lái没méi有yǒu尝cháng过guò中zhōng餐cān。
I've never eaten Chinese food before.
法fǎ国guó有yǒu正zhèng宗zōng的de中zhōng餐cān吗ma？
Are there authentic Chinese restaurants in France?

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

中 zhōng · within · 4 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4

餐 cān · meal · 16 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16

Related words

Words that share a character with 中餐.

中国ZhōngguóChina
中间zhōngjiānthe middle; the inside; in the middle; within; between; among
中午zhōngwǔnoon; midday
中学zhōngxuémiddle school
中文ZhōngwénChinese language
中学生zhōngxuéshēngmiddle-school student; high school student
其中qízhōngamong; in
中心zhōngxīncenter; heart; core
晚餐wǎncānevening meal; dinner
高中gāozhōngsenior high school (abbr. for 高級中學|高级中学[gao1 ji2 zhong1 xue2])
早餐zǎocānbreakfast
午餐wǔcānlunch; luncheon

Questions about 中餐

What does 中餐 mean?

中餐 (zhōngcān) means "lunch; Chinese meal; Chinese food" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 中餐?

中餐 is made of 2 characters: 中 (4 strokes), 餐 (16 strokes). That is 20 strokes in total.

Is 中餐 an HSK word?

Yes. 中餐 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How do I know if 中餐 means lunch or Chinese food?

Use context. In restaurants, travel, or when compared with 西餐 (xīcān), it means Chinese food. When listed with 早餐 (zǎocān, breakfast) and 晚餐 (wǎncān, dinner), it means lunch.

How do I say Chinese restaurant?

You can say 中餐馆 (zhōngcānguǎn) or 中餐厅 (zhōngcāntīng). For example, 附近有中餐馆吗？(Fùjìn yǒu zhōngcānguǎn ma?) Is there a Chinese restaurant nearby?

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