我吃
Wǒ chī
In Chinese, "I eat" is said as 我吃 (Wǒ chī).
我吃 is a statement used to say that the speaker is consuming food. You can use the phrase 我吃东西 informally to mean "I eat food" or "I'm having something to eat." Note that while the character 饭 specifically represents cooked rice, it is commonly used to refer to food in general.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of 我 (wǒ), meaning 'I' or 'me' and 吃 (chī), meaning 'to eat'.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express that you are currently in the middle of eating, you can add 在 before the verb 吃. To make the phrase negative, place 不 before the verb to say 我不吃 (I don't eat). If you want to indicate that the action of eating is completed, add the particle 了 after the verb to form 我吃了 (I ate / I have eaten).
How do you pronounce it?
Wǒ chī
When do people say it?
When someone offers you food, a common and polite way to decline is to say 我吃过了 (Wǒ chī guò le), which means "I have eaten already."
Did you know?
- The phrase 吃醋 ('eating vinegar') is a common idiom used to describe someone who is feeling jealous, particularly in a romantic relationship.
- In China, it is a common social custom to ask 你吃了吗? ('Have you eaten?') as a general greeting. It functions like 'How are you?' rather than a literal inquiry about your hunger.
- The character 吃 was originally written differently and used to mean 'to chew' or 'to swallow'. Its current form is a phono-semantic compound combining the radical for 'mouth' with a phonetic component.
Examples in context
- 我吃水果、喝水。I eat fruit and drink water.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase 我吃.Tatoeba #1227034 by tsayng, translation #1138030 by cntrational
- 我吃麵I eat noodles.Tatoeba #5295475 by xjjAstrus, translation #349838 by human600
- 我吃芝士。I eat cheese.Tatoeba #6192374 by yuiyu, translation #2481696 by abkhaz
- 你要不要吃饭？Would you like to eat?
- 谢谢，我已经吃过了。Thank you, I've already eaten.
- 我喜欢吃鸡肉和蔬菜。I like to eat chicken and vegetables.
- 5 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding what to order for lunch.
- 浩然 Haoran你想吃什么？Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme?What do you want to eat?
- 梓涵 Zihan我吃饺子，你呢？Wǒ chī jiǎozi, nǐ ne?I eat dumplings, how about you?
- 浩然 Haoran我也吃饺子。Wǒ yě chī jiǎozi.I will eat dumplings too.
- 梓涵 Zihan那我们点一份大份的。Nà wǒmen diǎn yī fèn dà fèn de.Then let's order a large portion.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
