I have previously written about how “Radicals Are Your Friend.” and in this article, I will introduce a specific radical that has been extremely helpful for me to learn:

Meet The Food Radical: 食字旁 (shí zì pang)

食字旁 (shí zì pang) or 饣字旁 (shí zì pang), literally means ‘the food one on the side’! This radical I lovingly label the “food radical”, meaning that characters with this radical are somehow related to food.  Come across an unfamiliar character with the food radical?  No problem! You can quickly guess at its meaning.

For example, 饽饽 (bō bo), is a steamed bun eaten in northeastern China.

Example Words and Phrases Containing ‘The Food Radical’

Here are several more common words and phrases that contain the food radical, you can click on all the red links to go to our Online Dictionary and see the characters in more detail!

饺子 (jiǎo zi) dumpling

Example Sentence: 我想要一份饺子. (wǒ xiǎng yào yī fèn jiǎo zi.) I would like one plate of dumplings.

米饭 (mǐ fàn) rice

Example Sentence: 今天我吃了鸡肉和米饭. (jīn tiān wǒ chī le jī ròu hé mǐ fàn. ) Today I ate chicken and rice.

饮料 (yǐn liào) drink/beverage

Example Sentence: 你们要什么饮料? (nǐ men yào shén me yǐn liào?) What would you guys like to drink?

饼干 (bǐng gān) biscuit/cookie

Example Sentence: 他喜欢吃饼干. (tā xǐ huan chī bǐng gān). He loves to eat cookies.

饭馆 (fàn guǎn) restaurant

Example Sentence: 我的家附近有很好的饭馆. (wǒ de jiā fù jìn yǒu hěn hǎo de fàn guǎn.) Near my house there is a very good restaurant.

饥饿 (jī è) hunger / starvation / famine

Example Sentence: 一些非洲国家的人民常遇到饥饿问题. (yī xiē fēi zhōu guó jiā de rén mín cháng yù dào jī è wèn tí.) Some people in African countries very often deal with hunger.

馅料 (xiàn liào) filling (like in a dumpling or a mooncake)

Example Sentence: 这些饺子里面有肉的馅料. (zhè xiē jiǎo zi lǐ miàn yǒu ròu de xiàn liào.) These dumplings have a meat filling.

饿了 (è le) hungry

Example Sentence: 我非常饿了. (wǒ fēi cháng è le.) I am extremely hungry.

吃饱了(chī bǎo le) full

Example Sentence: 我吃饱了 (wǒ chī bǎo le) = I am full.