wǔ fàn
déjeuner
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我吃午饭了。
wǒ chī wǔfàn le.
I ate lunch.
你吃午饭了吗？
nǐ chī wǔfàn le ma?
Did you eat lunch?
我们一起吃午饭吧。
wǒmen yīqǐ chī wǔfàn ba.
Let's eat lunch together.
午餐 (wǔcān)
lunch
晌午饭 (shǎngwǔfàn)
midday meal
正餐 (zhèngcān)
main meal
早餐 (zǎocān)
breakfast
晚餐 (wǎncān)
dinner
The Chinese word for lunch, 午饭 (wǔfàn), is composed of two characters: 午 (wǔ) and 饭 (fàn). The character 午 originally meant "noon" or "midday" and was often used to refer to the time of day when the sun is at its highest point in the sky. Over time, the character 午 came to be used more broadly to refer to the afternoon or lunchtime. The character 饭 (fàn) simply means "cooked rice" or "meal". When combined, the characters 午 and 饭 form the compound word 午饭, which specifically refers to the meal eaten during the afternoon or lunchtime.
