食晏
sik6 aan3
To eat lunch in Cantonese is 食晏 (sik6 aan3).
The phrase 食晏 is used specifically to refer to having a meal in the middle of the day.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the verb 食 (sik6), meaning 'to eat' and the noun 晏 (aan3), meaning 'afternoon'.
Which one should you use?
While 食晏 refers specifically to lunch, you may also encounter 食飯 (sik6 faan6), which means 'eat rice' or 'eat a meal' and is used colloquially to mean eating any meal, including lunch.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
For a much more formal context, such as saying 'to have a meal' (which can apply to any meal including lunch), you can use 用膳.
How do you pronounce it?
sik6 aan3
Did you know?
- The verb 食 (eat) is used in Cantonese for activities that do not involve food, such as 食藥 (taking medicine) or 食鹹苦 (enduring hardship).
- In very formal settings, the phrase 用膳 (use meal) is historically reserved for royalty or high-ranking officials, making it sound almost cinematic in modern daily life.
- In Hong Kong, asking someone 食咗晏未? (Have you eaten lunch yet?) is often used as a social greeting similar to 'How are you?' rather than a literal inquiry about hunger.
Examples in context
- 我哋一齊去食晏啦。ngo5 dei6 jat1 cai4 heoi3 sik6 aan2 laa1.Let's go eat lunch together.
- 你食晏咗未呀？nei5 sik6 aan2 zo2 mei6 aa3?Have you eaten lunch yet?
- 佢仲未去食晏。keoi5 zung6 mei6 heoi3 sik6 aan2.He hasn't gone to eat lunch yet.
Example conversation
Two colleagues are talking in the office at noon.
- 志強 Chi Keung曉彤，你想唔想一齊食晏？hiu2 tung4, nei5 soeng2 m4 soeng2 jat1 cai4 sik6 aan2?Hiu Tung, do you want to eat lunch together?
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung好呀，我而家都覺得肚餓。hou2 aa3, ngo5 ji4 gaa1 dou1 gok3 dak6 tou5 ngo6 aa3.Sure, I'm feeling hungry now too.
- 志強 Chi Keung你今日想食咩呀？nei5 gam1 jat6 soeng2 sik6 me1 aa3?What do you want to eat today?
- 曉彤 Hiu Tung志強，我諗住去食茶餐廳。zi3 koeng4, ngo5 sam2 zyu6 heoi3 caa4 caan1 teng1.Chi Keung, I'm thinking of going to a cafe.
