<p>The character 吃 is also a <a href="https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%96%AB" rel="nofollow noreferrer">variant of 喫</a> (same pronunciation), where it retains the meaning of both &quot;to eat&quot; and &quot;to drink&quot;.</p>
<p>This usage is preserved for example in Shanghainese, where 吃 is commonly used with liquids, whereas 喝 instead is almost never heard:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>(吴语）吃茶 (qiek4 zo1), 吃汤 (qiek4 tong1), 吃酒 (qiek4 jieu2), etc.</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-29T22:55:39.580Z
2020-07-29T22:55:39.580Z
blackgreen
<p>To complete @Lionel Rowe's answer, a common variant in traditional Chinese would be 喫茶 in lieu of 吃茶. <a href="https://www.moedict.tw/%E5%96%AB" rel="nofollow noreferrer">喫</a> can be replaced by 吃 safely, but the converse is not true. Furthermore, you can observe that the variant <a href="https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E5%96%AB%E8%8C%B6/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">喫茶</a> was imported in Japanese as well. Remarkably, there is a famous koan &quot;喫茶去&quot; from <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B6%99%E5%B7%9E%E5%BE%9E%E8%AB%97" rel="nofollow noreferrer">趙州從諗</a> (you can read a rather complete translation of the story in <a href="https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/21726320" rel="nofollow noreferrer">知乎</a>).</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-29T22:57:28.020Z
2020-07-29T23:10:56.810Z
2020-07-29T23:10:56.810Z
Firmin Martin
<p>In ancient Chinese, we always say <code>吃酒</code> long long ago. So <code>吃</code> means drink. It's just a habit. So in some acient dramas like 三国演义Romance of the Three Kingdoms, 水浒传Water Margin, 红楼梦Dream of the Red Chamber, they always use <code>吃酒</code>.
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/6ootM.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/6ootM.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>
<p>Now as times goes, we Chinese usually say <code>喝酒</code>, rahter than <code>吃酒</code>. For example, 嗨哥们，下班一块喝酒去. They will reponse with fine. But if you say 嗨哥们，下班一块吃酒去. Then they may say <code>你丫有病吧，看电视看多了吧</code>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T11:34:45.923Z
In our dialect here, "eating wine" generally means going to a banquet, such as a wedding banquet or birthday banquet.
T-Pioneer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-31T02:29:47.917Z
Which province or area? Suzhou?
Vincent
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-31T12:02:27.570Z
No, I'm from Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. It's next to Nanjing, not very far from Suzhou.
T-Pioneer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T10:29:42.443Z
2020-07-30T10:29:42.443Z
Vincent
<p>In ancient China, there was still <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lees_(fermentation)" rel="nofollow noreferrer">lees</a> in wine, so say &quot;eat&quot;.
In modern, wine is pure liquid, so we say &quot;drinking&quot;.</p>
<p>说实在话，这也跟咱们华夏民族的酿酒史有关联。在古代，我们的酿酒技术没有今天这么高，酒糟、酒底和酒是在一起的，很多地方的酒确实是吃的，而不是喝的，因为有干的部分。再加上酒是粮食酿造的，所以古代人们会把酒底也吃掉。因此古代就出现了吃酒这个词，就像我们吃饭一样。古代很多场景说筛酒和温酒，而不是斟酒。因为要通过筛的程序去掉这些杂质。
尽管明清以后，酿酒业比较发达，酒精度升高，酒糟被滤掉，但是吃酒和筛酒的说法还是沿用，所以这就是为什么古代人会说“吃酒”的原因了。</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T06:52:06.313Z
2020-07-30T08:22:43.423Z
2020-07-30T08:22:43.423Z
Clover
<p>既然敬酒不吃那就吃罚酒 actually is 敬酒不吃吃罚酒, which is usually seen or heard in certain contexts. For example, TV show or movie.
this sentence shows very strong emotion(mostly is anger),so please use it carefully.</p>
<p>there is an interest example about 喝水 and 吃水</p>
<p>喝水, as you know, means drink water, but 吃水 have very different meanings.</p>
<p>吃水：</p>
<p>a. Draft, the depth of water needed for a boat to be able to float.</p>
<p>b. coolant leaks into your car or motorcycle engine. (Taiwan)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T13:12:09.037Z
2020-07-30T13:12:09.037Z
HungYu Chang
<p>Clover is right. In ancient China, the &quot;酒&quot; is actually sweet rice drink like &quot;醪糟&quot; with less alchohol as today. That's also why ancient people can eat hundreds of cup of &quot;酒&quot; as shown in many ancient poems. People actually ate the rice together with drink.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T18:15:45.680Z
2020-07-30T18:15:45.680Z
Tommy Pang
<p>Just remember have usage like that, it's not necessary to know the different behind it,most of the Chinese didn't know why.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T18:37:39.233Z
Hello Michael, thank you for posting an answer. Please consider taking some time to read about [how to write good answers](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-answer). Answers that don't show effort and/or provide lasting value to users of this site might get downvoted and, some times, deleted.
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-31T15:08:15.823Z
Hi, @blackgreen, thanks for giving advice. Maybe my express took some mistaken. But trust me, I am telling the true, I am a chinese, and I didn't know why,and  most chinese is same.
michael jie
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T15:02:53.023Z
2020-07-30T15:02:53.023Z
michael jie
<p>&quot;Drink&quot; is one possible meaning of 吃. From the Taiwan Ministry of Education dictionary <a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?ccd=AHn2We&amp;o=e0&amp;sec=sec1&amp;op=v&amp;view=0-2" rel="noreferrer">definition for 吃</a>
(emphasis added):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>口中咀嚼食物後嚥下。有時吸、<strong>飲液體</strong>亦稱為「吃」。如：「吃飯」、「<strong>吃茶</strong>」、「吃藥」。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It also has an entry specifically for <a href="http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?ccd=UEzDWr&amp;o=e0&amp;sec=sec1&amp;op=v&amp;view=1-1" rel="noreferrer">吃酒</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-29T22:28:46.600Z
I would like to add that although using 吃 for 喝 is used to a degree in southern China. It is not common in northern China
Scharlach Nachtfalter
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T20:41:58.780Z
@ScharlachNachtfalter exactly, I would say 吃(喫 )酒 in my dialect( Sounthern China).
Archeosudoerus
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-29T20:11:43.930Z
2020-07-29T20:30:10.940Z
2020-07-29T20:30:10.940Z
Lionel Rowe
<p>So I watched a movie, in this sentence why did they use 吃 rather than 喝?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-07-30T00:50:14.443Z
敬酒不吃吃罚酒 is leveraged from the traditional Chinese and kept as is until today. Maybe, in some dialects, they may still say 吃酒.  Out of some specific phrases, we'd use 喝 in standard Mandarin.
dan
<usage><difference><verbs>
吃 Vs. 喝 in this sentence: 既然敬酒不吃那就吃罚酒
# 吃 Vs. 喝 in this sentence: 既然敬酒不吃那就吃罚酒

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-07-29)

So I watched a movie, in this sentence why did they use 吃 rather than 喝?

**Tags:** usage, difference, verbs
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: 敬酒不吃吃罚酒 is leveraged from the traditional Chinese and kept as is until today. Maybe, in some dialects, they may still say 吃酒.  Out of some specific phrases, we'd use 喝 in standard Mandarin.  

---

## 8 answers

### Answer by username_10 on 2020-07-29. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

"Drink" is one possible meaning of 吃. From the Taiwan Ministry of Education dictionary [definition for 吃](http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?ccd=AHn2We&o=e0&sec=sec1&op=v&view=0-2)
(emphasis added):

> 口中咀嚼食物後嚥下。有時吸、**飲液體**亦稱為「吃」。如：「吃飯」、「**吃茶**」、「吃藥」。

It also has an entry specifically for [吃酒](http://dict.revised.moe.edu.tw/cgi-bin/cbdic/gsweb.cgi?ccd=UEzDWr&o=e0&sec=sec1&op=v&view=1-1).

> **Comments:**
> **username_11**: I would like to add that although using 吃 for 喝 is used to a degree in southern China. It is not common in northern China  
> **username_12**: @ScharlachNachtfalter exactly, I would say 吃(喫 )酒 in my dialect( Sounthern China).  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-07-29. Score: 4

The character 吃 is also a [variant of 喫](https://www.zdic.net/hans/%E5%96%AB) (same pronunciation), where it retains the meaning of both "to eat" and "to drink".

This usage is preserved for example in Shanghainese, where 吃 is commonly used with liquids, whereas 喝 instead is almost never heard:

> (吴语）吃茶 (qiek4 zo1), 吃汤 (qiek4 tong1), 吃酒 (qiek4 jieu2), etc.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-07-29. Score: 3

To complete @Lionel Rowe's answer, a common variant in traditional Chinese would be 喫茶 in lieu of 吃茶. [喫](https://www.moedict.tw/%E5%96%AB) can be replaced by 吃 safely, but the converse is not true. Furthermore, you can observe that the variant [喫茶](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E5%96%AB%E8%8C%B6/) was imported in Japanese as well. Remarkably, there is a famous koan "喫茶去" from [趙州從諗](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%B6%99%E5%B7%9E%E5%BE%9E%E8%AB%97) (you can read a rather complete translation of the story in [知乎](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/21726320)).


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-07-30. Score: 2

In ancient Chinese, we always say `吃酒` long long ago. So `吃` means drink. It's just a habit. So in some acient dramas like 三国演义Romance of the Three Kingdoms, 水浒传Water Margin, 红楼梦Dream of the Red Chamber, they always use `吃酒`.
[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/6ootM.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/6ootM.jpg)

Now as times goes, we Chinese usually say `喝酒`, rahter than `吃酒`. For example, 嗨哥们，下班一块喝酒去. They will reponse with fine. But if you say 嗨哥们，下班一块吃酒去. Then they may say `你丫有病吧，看电视看多了吧`.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: In our dialect here, "eating wine" generally means going to a banquet, such as a wedding banquet or birthday banquet.  
> **username_4**: Which province or area? Suzhou?  
> **username_5**: No, I'm from Yangzhou, Jiangsu province. It's next to Nanjing, not very far from Suzhou.  

---

### Answer by username_6 on 2020-07-30. Score: 2

In ancient China, there was still [lees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lees_(fermentation)) in wine, so say "eat".
In modern, wine is pure liquid, so we say "drinking".

说实在话，这也跟咱们华夏民族的酿酒史有关联。在古代，我们的酿酒技术没有今天这么高，酒糟、酒底和酒是在一起的，很多地方的酒确实是吃的，而不是喝的，因为有干的部分。再加上酒是粮食酿造的，所以古代人们会把酒底也吃掉。因此古代就出现了吃酒这个词，就像我们吃饭一样。古代很多场景说筛酒和温酒，而不是斟酒。因为要通过筛的程序去掉这些杂质。
尽管明清以后，酿酒业比较发达，酒精度升高，酒糟被滤掉，但是吃酒和筛酒的说法还是沿用，所以这就是为什么古代人会说“吃酒”的原因了。


---

### Answer by username_7 on 2020-07-30. Score: 2

既然敬酒不吃那就吃罚酒 actually is 敬酒不吃吃罚酒, which is usually seen or heard in certain contexts. For example, TV show or movie.
this sentence shows very strong emotion(mostly is anger),so please use it carefully.

there is an interest example about 喝水 and 吃水

喝水, as you know, means drink water, but 吃水 have very different meanings.

吃水：

a. Draft, the depth of water needed for a boat to be able to float.

b. coolant leaks into your car or motorcycle engine. (Taiwan)


---

### Answer by username_8 on 2020-07-30. Score: 1

Clover is right. In ancient China, the "酒" is actually sweet rice drink like "醪糟" with less alchohol as today. That's also why ancient people can eat hundreds of cup of "酒" as shown in many ancient poems. People actually ate the rice together with drink.


---

### Answer by username_9 on 2020-07-30. Score: -2

Just remember have usage like that, it's not necessary to know the different behind it,most of the Chinese didn't know why.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Hello Michael, thank you for posting an answer. Please consider taking some time to read about [how to write good answers](https://chinese.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-answer). Answers that don't show effort and/or provide lasting value to users of this site might get downvoted and, some times, deleted.  
> **username_9**: Hi, @blackgreen, thanks for giving advice. Maybe my express took some mistaken. But trust me, I am telling the true, I am a chinese, and I didn't know why,and  most chinese is same.  

---

