晚饭

• Pinyin: wǎn fàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 晚 = evening; 饭 = 饣(food radical) + 反 (phonetic) — meal/rice

Meaning

Dinner; supper; evening meal. The main meal eaten in the evening.

One of the three daily meals: 早饭 (breakfast), 午饭 (lunch), 晚饭 (dinner). Dinner is typically the most important meal of the day in Chinese families, when everyone gathers to eat together. Also called 晚餐 in more formal contexts.

Examples

1. 你吃晚饭了吗？ Have you eaten dinner?
2. 妈妈在做晚饭。 Mom is making dinner.
3. 我们六点吃晚饭。 We eat dinner at six.

Usage Guide

Context: food and drink, daily routine

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 晚饭吃什么？(What's for dinner?)
• 今天的晚饭很好吃。(Dinner is delicious today.)

Don't Say

• 我吃了一个晚饭。(Unnatural — say 我吃了晚饭; meals do not need a measure word in Chinese)

Origin & History

A compound of 晚 (evening) and 饭 (rice/meal), literally meaning 'evening meal.'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal