The Food FamilyRadical 食
The people take food as heaven
ShuowenShuowen: “Food is one grain. From 皀 with 亼 as sound.”
The oracle form of 食 is a little roof (亼) over a grain-filled vessel — a house with grain is food. The 食 radical is the script’s kitchen: 饥, 饿, 饱, 馋 write the feel of every meal; 馆, 馈, 馔, 养 write the manners of hosting and feeding. And the chain ends at 饕餮 — the glutton beast with no body, cast on bronze vessels as a warning label for every dinner table.
The Root Character · Reading “食” in Three Layers
See the form
The oracle form: a roof (亼) over a vessel heaped with grain (皀).
Read the logic
As a radical it shortens to 饣: 饭, 饮, 饥, 饱 — whatever enters the mouth belongs here.
Grasp the wisdom
“Food never too fine, meat never too finely cut” stands beside “a basket of rice, a gourd of drink”: the Chinese hold exacting taste and cheerful austerity at the same table.
The Making of a Glyph
- Oracle boneA roof over a heaped vessel.
- BronzeThe vessel swells; grains dot the mouth.
- Small seal亼 above, 皀 below — settled and even.
- Clerical & regularShortened to the 饣 radical.
Glyphs are schematic reconstructions, not rubbings.
The Chain of Hunger & Fullness
The ancients made a character for every state of eating — from an empty stomach to a full table, ending at the beast that ate too much.
From an empty belly to the glutton’s warningA failed grain harvest — hunger.
Classical Chinese graded hunger: 饥 is not enough to eat; 饿 is nothing to eat — light and heavy, a character apart.
Character Assembly · Two Parts Become One
When two parts walk toward each other, a new character is born. Watch how they meet.
飨 xiǎng
FormVillagers (乡) sharing food (食).
LogicA village feast is 飨 — later the gods were invited too: 以飨读者, “for the reader’s enjoyment”.
Wisdom飨 is food as society: eating alone feeds you; eating together feasts you.
饲 sì
FormFood (饣) under a steward (司).
LogicTo give food to people or beasts is 饲.
WisdomFeeding is food with a direction — and a duty: behind the feeding stands the “steward”.
馆 guǎn
FormFood (饣) beside official (官) — a guest-house with a kitchen.
LogicA lodge that provisions travellers was a 馆.
Wisdom宾馆, 饭馆, 图书馆 — the character insists: where there is food, people stay.
馈 kuì
FormFood (饣) beside “precious” (贵).
LogicShuowen’s sense: to present food — offering it with both hands.
Wisdom馈赠, 回馈 — the heaviest Chinese gifts began as a delivered meal.
Branches of the Family
Hover (or tap) a character to see what it means.
Staples on the Table
Regulars of the kitchen, each with a name.
- 饭
- 粥
- 糕
- 饼
- 馍
- 粽
- 馅
- 饪
From Food to People
The manners of eating became characters of feeling.
- 饯
- 饴
- 馑
- 馊
- 馄
- 饨
- 馇
- 粢
Trail Rations
For marches, journeys and exams — food that travels.
- 糗
- 糇
- 饵
- 馃
- 饧
- 馍
- 馒
- 馐
「In food, never tire of fineness; in minced meat, never tire of fine cutting.」
—— Confucius
「Who knows that every grain on the plate was earned by toil?」
—— Li Shen