饭碗
fànwǎn
In Chinese, the phrase "rice bowl" is 饭碗 (fànwǎn).
The term can be used literally to describe a bowl used for eating rice. However, it is frequently used metaphorically to refer to a person's job, livelihood or source of income. For example, the idiom 砸了饭碗 (to smash one's rice bowl) describes someone losing their job or ruining their livelihood through their own actions.
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 饭 (fàn), meaning 'meal' or 'cooked rice' and 碗 (wǎn), meaning 'bowl'.
How do you pronounce it?
fànwǎn
Did you know?
- The term 铁饭碗 or 'iron rice bowl' refers to a job with guaranteed lifetime security, typically a government position that is impossible to lose.
- In Chinese culture, leaving a bowl of rice unfinished or knocking over a 饭碗 is often seen as an omen of bad luck or a sign of poverty in the future.
- If you are talking about a person's profession, calling it their 饭碗 can sound quite blunt or even slightly cynical in certain social contexts. It reduces a person's identity or passion to mere survival and caloric intake.
Examples in context
- 妈妈，你能递一下饭碗吗？(Māma, nǐ néng dì yí xià fàn wǎn ma?)Mom, can you pass the rice bowl?
- 你能给我再拿一个饭碗吗？(Nǐ néng gěi wǒ zài ná yí ge fàn wǎn ma?)Could you bring me another rice bowl?
- 他很珍惜自己的饭碗。Tā hěn zhēnxī zìjǐ de fànwǎn.He cherishes his livelihood very much.
- 这个工作就是我的饭碗。Zhège gōngzuò jiùshì wǒ de fànwǎn.This job is my source of income.
- 桌子上放着一个饭碗。Zhuōzi shàng fàngzhe yīgè fànwǎn.There is a rice bowl on the table.
