食
Character
to eat
- Radical
- 食 (itself)
- Strokes
- 9
- Structure
- Top–bottom
- Parts
- 人 良
- Traditional
- 食
- Frequency
- #524 most common character
Readings and meanings
- to eat CC-CEDICT
- food CC-CEDICT
- animal feed CC-CEDICT
- eclipse CC-CEDICT
Words that use “食” as shí
食物shí wùfoodWordHSK 2美食měi shídelicious food that tastes very goodWordHSK 3食品shí pǐnfood, especially food sold in shops or packagesWordHSK 3零食líng shísnackWordHSK 4食堂shí tángcafeteriaWordHSK 4饮食yǐn shífood and drinkWordHSK 5食欲shí yùthe feeling that you want to eat foodWordHSK 6主食zhǔ shístaple food, like rice or breadWordHSK 7–9
sì
si4Reading 2Rare readingThis reading is uncommon in everyday Chinese; the main reading is shí.
- to feed (a person or animal) CC-CEDICT
Stroke order
All 9 strokes
Speed
Practice writing 食
Draw “食” here — the faint guide shows its shape.
Example sentences
这种食物很好吃。
zhè zhǒng shí wù hěn hǎo chī
This kind of food is very tasty.
AI-generated sentence
我去超市买食品。
wǒ qù chāo shì mǎi shí pǐn
I go to the supermarket to buy food.
AI-generated sentence
我每天给猫喂食。
wǒ měi tiān gěi māo wèi shí
I feed my cat every day.
AI-generated sentence