食飯 / 食饭
sik⁶ faan⁶colloquial
The Cantonese phrase for "eat" (meaning to eat a meal) is 食飯 / 食饭 (sik⁶ faan⁶). If unsure, use 食飯 / 食饭. Wiktionary also lists 吃飯 / 吃饭 (jaak³ faan⁶).
Meaning: eat a meal (verb)
Ways to say it
| Cantonese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 食飯 / 食饭 | sik⁶ faan⁶ | colloquial |
| 吃飯 / 吃饭 | jaak³ faan⁶ | colloquial |
The phrase is used idiomatically to mean "to eat a meal" in a general sense, rather than referring specifically to the literal act of eating rice.
Which one should you use?
The forms 食飯 / 食饭 and 吃飯 / 吃饭 are both used colloquially to mean eating a meal.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Both 食飯 / 食饭 and 吃飯 / 吃饭 are colloquial. For a formal way to say one is having a meal or dining, use 用膳.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express that someone has already eaten or has eaten a meal, you can add the aspect marker 咗 (zo2) after the verb to form 食咗飯.
How do you pronounce it?
sik⁶ faan⁶
Did you know?
- The verb 食 is used in Cantonese for things that English speakers would never 'eat', such as 'taking' a medicine or 'consuming' a bribe.
- In Cantonese culture, asking someone 食咗飯未? ('Have you eaten yet?') is often used as a friendly greeting similar to 'How are you?' rather than a literal inquiry into their hunger.
- The phrase 'to eat vinegar' in Cantonese (and Mandarin) is an idiom meaning to be jealous, particularly in a romantic context.
Examples in context
- 我食咗餐飯。I've eaten a meal.
- 一齊食飯啦！Let's eat together!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “eat” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
