吃了
chī le
In Chinese, the phrase for 'ate' is 吃了 (chī le).
The past tense of eat, used to say that someone has consumed food.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of the verb 吃 (chī), meaning 'to eat' and the particle 了 (le), which indicates a completed action.
Which one should you use?
While 吃了 focuses on the completion of a specific event, the form 吃过 is used to express the experience of having eaten something in the past.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Chinese, the verb itself does not change to indicate tense as it does in English. Instead, the aspect of the action is indicated by particles like 了.
How do you pronounce it?
chī le
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly try to conjugate the verb itself for tense. Instead, keep the verb 吃 unchanged and use the particle 了 to show the action is completed.
When do people say it?
In Chinese culture, it is customary to ask others if they have eaten as a way of expressing care and concern.
Did you know?
- The verb 吃 (chī) is used metaphorically in many expressions where English uses 'to eat', such as 吃醋 (chī cù), which literally means 'to eat vinegar' but actually means 'to be jealous'.
- In a metaphorical sense, 吃 can mean to endure or suffer, such as in the phrase 吃苦 (chī kǔ), which literally translates to 'eating bitterness'.
- Chinese uses the verb 吃 (chī) for things that are not food, such as 吃药 (chī yào) meaning 'to take medicine'.
Examples in context
- 他吃了些沙。He ate some sand.This sentence is useful for seeing how to use 吃了 with a noun.Tatoeba #2694368 by sadhen, translation #1923380 by Spamster
- 我吃了蘋果。I ate apples.This sentence shows how to use 吃了 with a noun.Tatoeba #8824076 by xjjAstrus, translation #3378092 by _undertoad
- 我吃了炸薯條。I ate french fries.Tatoeba #6940188 by xjjAstrus, translation #7767809 by sharris123
- 80 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
浩然 and 雨婷 are talking about lunch.
- 浩然 Haoran你吃了午饭吗？Nǐ chī le wǔfàn ma?Have you eaten lunch?
- 雨婷 Yuting我刚才吃了面包。Wǒ gāngcái chī le miànbāo.I just ate some bread.
- 浩然 Haoran那太好了。Nà tài hǎo le.That's good.
- 雨婷 Yuting你呢？你吃了吗？Nǐ ne? Nǐ chī le ma?How about you? Have you eaten?
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
