健康食品
jiànkāng shípǐn
In Chinese, the phrase for healthy food is 健康食品 (jiànkāng shípǐn).
健康食品 is used to refer to food that is good for a person's physical health.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of 健康 (healthy) and 食品 (foodstuffs/food products).
Which one should you use?
While 健康食品 refers to food as a category of products, 健康的食物 (jiànkāng de shíwù) is a more common way to describe food that is nutritious in a general, everyday sense.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
健康食品 is a formal term often used in a commercial context, such as on product packaging or in industry reports.
How do you pronounce it?
jiànkāng shípǐn
Did you know?
- In China, the concept of 'healthy food' is often tied to 药食同源, the belief that food and medicine share the same origin. This means some 'healthy' foods are chosen specifically for their medicinal properties rather than just nutrition.
- A common cultural divide in 'healthy eating' involves 上火 (shànghuǒ), where certain foods are avoided not because of calories, but because they are 'heating' and cause inflammation or acne.
- Chinese people often categorize 'healthy food' by its effect on the 阴阳 (yin and yang) of the body, meaning a food is only 'healthy' if it balances the current state of the person eating it.
Examples in context
- 我喜欢吃健康的食物。I like to eat healthy food.
- 我喜欢吃健康食品。Wǒ xǐhuān chī jiànkāng shípǐn.I like eating healthy food.
- 超市有很多健康食品。Chāoshì yǒu hěnduō jiànkāng shípǐn.There is a lot of healthy food in the supermarket.
- 你应该多买点健康食品。Nǐ yīnggāi duō mǎi diǎn jiànkāng shípǐn.You should buy more healthy food.
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Zihan are talking about their diet.
- 志强 Zhiqiang梓涵，你想吃什么？Zǐhán, nǐ xiǎng chī shénme?Zihan, what do you want to eat?
- 梓涵 Zihan我想吃一些健康食品。Wǒ xiǎng chī yīxiē jiànkāng shípǐn.I want to eat some healthy food.
- 志强 Zhiqiang那我们去吃沙拉吧。Nà wǒmen qù chī shālā ba.Then let's go eat salad.
- 梓涵 Zihan好主意，走吧！Hǎo zhǔyì, zǒu ba!Good idea, let's go!
