měi shí
delicious food ; gourmet
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我喜欢吃中国美食。
wǒ xǐhuān chī zhōngguó měishí.
I like to eat Chinese food.
这家餐厅的美食很美味。
zhè jiā cāntīng de měishí hěn měiwèi.
The food in this restaurant is very delicious.
我想尝尝当地的美食。
wǒ xiǎng chángcháng dāngdì de měishí.
I want to try the local food.
美味 (měiwèi)
delicious
佳肴 (jiāyáo)
delicacy
粗茶淡饭 (cū chá dàn fàn)
simple food
难以下咽 (nán yǐ xià yān)
hard to swallow
The Chinese word 美食 (měishí) for "delicious food" is a compound of two characters: 美 (měi), meaning "beautiful, delicious," and 食 (shí), meaning "food, to eat." The character 美 is composed of two parts: 羊 (yáng), meaning "sheep," and 大 (dà), meaning "big." This suggests that the original meaning of 美 was "big sheep," which was considered a delicacy in ancient China. The character 食 is composed of two parts: 人 (rén), meaning "person," and 良 (liáng), meaning "good." This suggests that the original meaning of 食 was "good for people," which is consistent with its meaning as "food." The combination of 美 and 食 in 美食 thus suggests the idea of "delicious food that is good for people."
