<p>饭，菜， 食 and 餐 not really all the same</p>

<p>饭 ：Rice
菜 ：Vegetables
食 (食物） ：Food
餐 ：Meal</p>

<p>我吃过四川菜 means I ate before 四川 dish/Veg
There's 早餐，午餐 and 晚餐 that stand for breakfast, lunch and dinner.</p>

<p>炒饭 : Here it means fried rice</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-03T10:40:47.013Z
2014-03-03T10:40:47.013Z
Timothy
<p>饭:
1. In a narrow sense, it mean's prepared, ready to eat rice or rice bowl. In some parts of China, it can mean the main course of a meal.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>你来煮饭，我来弄几个菜</p>
  
  <p>You cook the rice, I'll come up with some dishes.</p>
</blockquote>

<ol>
<li>In a wide sense, it means meal.</li>
</ol>

<blockquote>
  <p>一天三顿饭对于健康很重要。</p>
  
  <p>Three meals a day is important for health.</p>
</blockquote>

<ol>
<li>In a figurative sense, it can mean food in general.</li>
</ol>

<blockquote>
  <p>很多穷人没饭吃/很多穷人吃不上饭</p>
  
  <p>Many poor people have nothing to eat/Many poor people can not afford food.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>菜: Basically dishes in a meal other than the rice, desert and soup. For example Kong Pao Chiken is 菜 </p>

<p>餐: means meal. Its meaning is similar to the second meaning of 饭, but in most of the cases, it is used to construct phrases and words or to be formal in modern Chinese.</p>

<p>For example:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>就餐/用餐
  dinning/to dine. Compare it with 吃饭(eating/having a meal, to eat/to have a meal)</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-27T12:24:58.103Z
2014-03-27T12:24:58.103Z
user1228520
<blockquote>
  <p>饭</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>Inner meaning</strong>: Rice</p>

<p><strong>Outer meaning</strong>: Rice alternatives, for example, noodles, bread, also called 主食 which means the main food to fill yourself</p>

<p><strong>Extended meaning</strong>: Food you eat at a certain time, breakfast, lunch, or dinner.</p>

<p>"你吃饭了吗?" means Have you eaten (breakfast, lunch, or dinner, depends on the time you are asked)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>菜</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>Inner meaning</strong>: vegetable</p>

<p><strong>Outer meaning</strong>: food eaten along with 饭, for example, vegetables, eggs, fish, and meals. Also called 副食.</p>

<p><strong>Extended meaning</strong>: Dishes</p>

<p>你做饭吗? means Do you cook, but people usually won't say 你做菜吗? instead, 你<strong>会</strong>做菜吗? Using a microwave is not 做菜, it is not cooking, though it indeed fills yourself, so it is only 做饭.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>食</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>Inner meaning</strong>: 吃 in written language</p>

<p><strong>Outer meaning</strong>: Food in written language</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>餐</p>
</blockquote>

<p><strong>Inner meaning</strong>: breakfast, lunch, and dinner in written language</p>

<p>早饭 = 早餐</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-14T15:16:49.457Z
2020-06-14T15:16:49.457Z
sfy
<p>What are the differences between 饭，菜， 食 and 餐？Basically all mean food. But I know they are sometimes used in different curcimstances.</p>

<p>What is then the most common word for food: 菜 or 食 ？</p>

<p>我吃过四川菜。Also here I am wondering, can I use anything else but 菜？</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-03-03T20:20:29.373Z
IMHO, I would try to learn some more Chinese vocabulary incorporating those 4 individual characters. I often think Chinese characters make more sense in the context of a full sentence or the usual 2-character-length word. Sometimes a single character can be applied in a lot of different ways. The more words you see with those 4 characters, the more understanding you will get, and, eventually, you will just start to grasp their nuances and subtle differences intuitively. Granted with 饭 and even 吃, you might run into some idiom patterns that might not make sense to you right now, depending on yo
SherMM
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-06-14T03:33:14.223Z
After going through all the answers and comments, I would just like to add one more, and it is 开饭, meaning “dinner is served / ready", "lets eat", etc. However, when it becomes 有饭开，it has the colloquial meaning of "we will survive" or "we have income to survive" or "we have means to live" This therefore underlines the critical importance of rice, at least to the Southern Chinese who, especially the older generation, perhaps even now greet other with "Have you eaten rice yet?", instead of other social greetings.
Wayne Cheah
<meaning><usage><meaning-in-context><difference>
Differences between 饭，菜， 食 and 餐
# Differences between 饭，菜， 食 and 餐

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-03-02)

What are the differences between 饭，菜， 食 and 餐？Basically all mean food. But I know they are sometimes used in different curcimstances.

What is then the most common word for food: 菜 or 食 ？

我吃过四川菜。Also here I am wondering, can I use anything else but 菜？

**Tags:** meaning, usage, meaning-in-context, difference
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: IMHO, I would try to learn some more Chinese vocabulary incorporating those 4 individual characters. I often think Chinese characters make more sense in the context of a full sentence or the usual 2-character-length word. Sometimes a single character can be applied in a lot of different ways. The more words you see with those 4 characters, the more understanding you will get, and, eventually, you will just start to grasp their nuances and subtle differences intuitively. Granted with 饭 and even 吃, you might run into some idiom patterns that might not make sense to you right now, depending on yo  
> **username_2**: After going through all the answers and comments, I would just like to add one more, and it is 开饭, meaning “dinner is served / ready", "lets eat", etc. However, when it becomes 有饭开，it has the colloquial meaning of "we will survive" or "we have income to survive" or "we have means to live" This therefore underlines the critical importance of rice, at least to the Southern Chinese who, especially the older generation, perhaps even now greet other with "Have you eaten rice yet?", instead of other social greetings.  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2014-03-03. Score: 2

饭，菜， 食 and 餐 not really all the same

饭 ：Rice
菜 ：Vegetables
食 (食物） ：Food
餐 ：Meal

我吃过四川菜 means I ate before 四川 dish/Veg
There's 早餐，午餐 and 晚餐 that stand for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

炒饭 : Here it means fried rice


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2014-03-27. Score: 1

饭:
1. In a narrow sense, it mean's prepared, ready to eat rice or rice bowl. In some parts of China, it can mean the main course of a meal.

> 你来煮饭，我来弄几个菜
>
> You cook the rice, I'll come up with some dishes.

1. In a wide sense, it means meal.

> 一天三顿饭对于健康很重要。
>
> Three meals a day is important for health.

1. In a figurative sense, it can mean food in general.

> 很多穷人没饭吃/很多穷人吃不上饭
>
> Many poor people have nothing to eat/Many poor people can not afford food.

菜: Basically dishes in a meal other than the rice, desert and soup. For example Kong Pao Chiken is 菜

餐: means meal. Its meaning is similar to the second meaning of 饭, but in most of the cases, it is used to construct phrases and words or to be formal in modern Chinese.

For example:

> 就餐/用餐
> dinning/to dine. Compare it with 吃饭(eating/having a meal, to eat/to have a meal)


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### Answer by username_5 on 2020-06-14. Score: 0

> 饭

**Inner meaning**: Rice

**Outer meaning**: Rice alternatives, for example, noodles, bread, also called 主食 which means the main food to fill yourself

**Extended meaning**: Food you eat at a certain time, breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

"你吃饭了吗?" means Have you eaten (breakfast, lunch, or dinner, depends on the time you are asked)

> 菜

**Inner meaning**: vegetable

**Outer meaning**: food eaten along with 饭, for example, vegetables, eggs, fish, and meals. Also called 副食.

**Extended meaning**: Dishes

你做饭吗? means Do you cook, but people usually won't say 你做菜吗? instead, 你**会**做菜吗? Using a microwave is not 做菜, it is not cooking, though it indeed fills yourself, so it is only 做饭.

> 食

**Inner meaning**: 吃 in written language

**Outer meaning**: Food in written language

> 餐

**Inner meaning**: breakfast, lunch, and dinner in written language

早饭 = 早餐


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