TraceHanzi

午餐 meaning in English

wǔcān

lunch; luncheon

HSK 2noun20 strokes

Meaning of 午餐

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

wǔcān
  1. lunch
  2. luncheon

Measure word: 份,頓|顿,次

How to use 午餐

午餐 is a slightly more formal or written word for lunch. You see it on menus, signs and in school or office settings, while 午饭 (wǔfàn) is more common in casual speech. Example: 我们一起吃午餐吧。(Wǒmen yìqǐ chī wǔcān ba.) Let's have lunch together.

午 (wǔ) means noon, as in 中午 (zhōngwǔ), and 餐 (cān) means a meal. A noon meal is lunch.

Common mistake: Learners often confuse 午 (wǔ) with 牛 (niú, cow). 午 has no stroke poking up through the top. Also keep the third tone on 午 so it does not sound like 五 (wǔ) said with the wrong tone or like 舞.

午餐 in example sentences

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

每měi个gè人rén都dōu应yīng该gāi带dài自zì己jǐ的de午wǔ餐cān。
Everyone should bring their own lunch.
你nǐ想xiǎng和hé我wǒ一yì起qǐ吃chī午wǔ餐cān吗ma？
Would you like to eat lunch with me?
母mǔ亲qīn为wèi我wǒ们men准zhǔn备bèi了le午wǔ餐cān。
Mother prepared us lunch.
你nǐ不bù需xū要yào随suí身shēn带dài著zhù午wǔ餐cān。
You don't need to carry lunch with you.
我wǒ们men在zài两liǎng点diǎn钟zhōng很hěn晚wǎn才cái吃chī午wǔ餐cān。
We had a late lunch at two.

Stroke order for each character

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

午 wǔ · noon · 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 午餐.

下午xiàwǔafternoon; p.m.
午饭wǔfànlunch
中午zhōngwǔnoon; midday
上午shàngwǔmorning
晚餐wǎncānevening meal; dinner
早餐zǎocānbreakfast
快餐kuàicānfast food; snack
午睡wǔshuìto take a nap in the afternoon
中餐zhōngcānlunch; Chinese meal; Chinese food
西餐xīcānWestern-style food
套餐tàocānset meal; (fig.) product or service package (e.g. for a cell phone subscription)
餐厅cāntīngdining hall; dining room

Questions about 午餐

What does 午餐 mean?

午餐 (wǔcān) means "lunch; luncheon" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 午餐?

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

Is 午餐 an HSK word?

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

What is the difference between 午餐 and 午饭?

Both mean lunch. 午饭 (wǔfàn) sounds more everyday and spoken, while 午餐 (wǔcān) sounds a bit more formal and is common in writing, menus and business contexts.

How do I say breakfast and dinner in the same style?

Use 早餐 (zǎocān) for breakfast and 晚餐 (wǎncān) for dinner. Together with 午餐 they form a matching set built on 餐 (cān), meal.

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