吃 from HSK Level 1 Vocabulary List

The Chinese character 吃 (chī) for "to eat" is composed of two parts: the radical 口 (kǒu) for "mouth" and the phonetic component 乞 (qǐ). The radical 口 indicates that the character is related to the mouth, while the phonetic component 乞 provides a hint about its pronunciation.The original form of 吃 was 喫, which was first used in oracle bone script during the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE). The character 喫 was composed of the radical 口 and the phonetic component 乞, which was a pictograph of a person holding a bowl of food to their mouth. Over time, the character 喫 simplified to 吃, which is the form used today.The character 吃 has a rich history and has been used in a variety of contexts throughout Chinese history. In addition to its literal meaning of "to eat," 吃 can also be used figuratively to mean "to suffer" or "to endure." For example, the phrase 吃苦 (chī kǔ) means "to suffer hardship," while the phrase 吃亏 (chī kuī) means "to suffer a loss."The character 吃 is also used in a number of idioms and proverbs. For example, the idiom 吃一堑, 长一智 (chī yī qiàn, zhǎng yī zhì) means "to learn from one's mistakes," while the proverb 民以食为天 (mín yǐ shí wéi tiān) means "the people take food as their heaven."Overall, the character 吃 is a versatile and important character in the Chinese language. It has a rich history and is used in a variety of contexts, both literally and figuratively.