吃 (chī) is a Chinese character meaning “to eat”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 乞 (to beg), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to eat”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 乞
Left–right structure
Structure from: modern-form decomposition, verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts (口 3 + 乞 3 = 6)
Memory aid
A mouth (口) next to someone begging (乞): the beggar finally gets to eat.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 吃饭chī fànto eat; to have a meal吃 = chī
- 吃亏chī kuīto suffer a loss; to be at a disadvantage吃 = chī
- 吃了chī leate; have eaten吃 = chī
- 吃惊chī jīngto be startled; to be surprised吃 = chī
- 吃饱chī bǎoto eat one's fill; to be full吃 = chī
- 寅吃卯粮yín chī mǎo liángto eat next year’s grain this year; to spend future income in advance吃 = chī
- 贪吃tān chīgluttonous; greedy for food吃 = chī
Go deeper
All readings
to eat
to eat; to take (food, medicine); to absorb; to suffer or bear (something bad)
把食物放进嘴里咀嚼咽下；也表示承受、遭受。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 吃饭chī fànto eat; to have a meal吃 = chī
- 吃亏chī kuīto suffer a loss; to be at a disadvantage吃 = chī
- 吃了chī leate; have eaten吃 = chī
- 吃惊chī jīngto be startled; to be surprised吃 = chī
- 吃饱chī bǎoto eat one's fill; to be full吃 = chī
- 寅吃卯粮yín chī mǎo liángto eat next year’s grain this year; to spend future income in advance吃 = chī
- 贪吃tān chīgluttonous; greedy for food吃 = chī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 吃 mean?
吃 (chī) means to eat; to take (food, medicine); to absorb; to suffer or bear (something bad).
How do you pronounce 吃?
It is pronounced chī.
What parts is 吃 made of?
口 (mouth) and 乞 (to beg), side by side. The recorded source is: modern-form decomposition, verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke counts (口 3 + 乞 3 = 6). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 吃 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 吃?
口. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 吃?
Common ones are 吃饭 and 吃亏. The reading of 吃 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.