食物
shí wù
Food
食物 (shíwù) is the most common and general term for 'food' in Mandarin Chinese. It refers to anything edible, from raw ingredients to prepared dishes, and is suitable in most contexts.
When to use it
Neutral. While 食物 is a general term, in daily conversation, people often use more specific words like 饭 (fàn, 'cooked rice' or 'meal') or 菜 (cài, 'dishes' or 'vegetables') when talking about meals. For a more casual way to say 'things to eat,' you can use 吃的东西 (chī de dōngxi).
How to pronounce it
Sounds like “SHIH-woo.” The first syllable, 食, is a high-level first tone. The second syllable, 物, is a falling fourth tone.
Other ways to say it
- 饭fàncooked rice; meal
- 菜càidish; vegetable
- 吃的东西chī de dōng xīthings to eat (casual)
Examples
这种食物很健康。
zhè zhǒng shí wù hěn jiàn kāng 。
This kind of food is very healthy.
我们需要买一些食物。
wǒ men xū yào mǎi yì xiē shí wù 。
We need to buy some food.
你喜欢吃什么食物？
nǐ xǐ huan chī shén me shí wù ？
What kind of food do you like to eat?
Pro tip: While 食物 is the general word for 'food,' in everyday chat about meals, Chinese speakers often use 饭 (fàn) for 'meal' or 'cooked rice' and 菜 (cài) for 'dishes' or 'vegetables.' For example, 'What's for dinner?' is '晚饭吃什么？' (Wǎnfàn chī shénme?), not '晚餐食物吃什么？'
Related phrases
和平 · Peace钱 · Money闭嘴 · Shut up
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