餐 cān — eat; meal · English

餐

cān

eat; meal

At a glance · 餐

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Evolution of the glyph

Five stages, from a sketch of the real object to regular script — tap a stage, drag the timeline, or play the animation.

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seen
Oracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCE
Seal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCE
Clerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CE
Regular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

Object sketchBefore writing · drawing what was seenOracle boneShang dynasty · c. 1300–1046 BCESeal scriptQin dynasty · 221–206 BCEClerical scriptHan dynasty · 206 BCE–220 CERegular scriptWei–Jin to Tang · c. 3rd–9th century CE

⚠ Some ancient forms are not attested：oracle bone form、seal script form。No excavated oracle bone / seal artifact is attested for this character yet; we leave it blank rather than fabricate.

小篆从食，湌（或歺）声，本义为吃、进食。形声清晰。

What the sketch shows

Origins & notes

本义为进食、饭食。

Structure

形声字，从食（意符，饮食），粲/歺（cān）为声符。

At a glance

Pinyincān

Radical飠

Strokes16

UnicodeU+9910

Character type形声

Theme动作

Six languages, one character

Each page offers hreflang versions; switching language keeps the glyphs and meanings aligned.

English eat; meal To eat; also a meal.

Français manger; repas Manger ; aussi un repas.

Español comer; comida Comer ; también una comida.

العربية يأكل؛ وجبة يأكل؛ ويُستعار للوجبة.

Русский есть; еда Есть; также еда.

Common words

餐厅cān tīngrestaurant
餐cāneat

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