Food – the Be-all, End-all
Before they had to stay home all day, many people took easy access to food for granted; these days, however, even though everyone is realizing just how important food is, that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it, too. Eat what you need, but enjoy what you eat!
“吃货 (chī huò)”, or, “foodie” refers someone who loves food or is very good at making food. The term has been used differently in different periods and in different regions. In China, it first appeared in TV dramas in the 1990s. Now, In fact, the term “chī huò” refers more often to enjoying food as a hobby, rather than a profession, and is often a kind of self-ridicule of the author.
wǒ shì yí gè chī huò.
我 是 一 个 吃 货。
I am a foodie.
tā de mèng xiǎng shì chéng wéi yí gè zǒu biàn shì jiè de chī huò.
他 的 梦 想 是 成 为 一 个 走 遍 世 界 的 吃 货。
His dream is to become a foodie who travels the world.
The expression, “吃播 (chī bō)” refers to a live broadcast where the audience watches while the broadcaster eats (usually vast quantities of food). The reason why some people like watching other people eat may be because it gets them excited about the food they’re going to eat, and gets them thinking about food in a new way, as something that can be shared with others.
Unfortunately, the “vast quantities” of food consumed that are often highlighted in “chī bō” are sometimes misleading – some people actually regurgitate the food they eat right after the broadcast is over. In situations like these, it’s sad to see so much food going waste.
wǒ xǐ huɑn kàn chī bō.
我 喜 欢 看 吃 播。
I like to watch mukbangs.
wǒ xiǎng zuò yì chǎng chī bō.
我 想 做 一 场 吃 播。
I want to do broadcast mukbangs.
浪费 (làng fèi): v. to waste
“浪费 (làng fèi)” means “to waste”, and can be used in the same way as the English word, such as referring to the behavior of underutilizing or not paying attention to things. We should avoid unnecessary waste, and instead “珍惜 (zhēn xī)“, or, “cherish” what we have, whether that’s time, food, or other things.
làng fèi hǎo hɑo de shí wù shì yǒu zuì de.
浪 费 好 好 的 食 物 是 有 罪 的。
It’s a crime to waste good food!
wǒ men bù yīng gāi zài zhè lǐ làng fèi shí jiān.
我 们 不 应 该 在 这 里 浪 费 时 间。
We shouldn’t waste our time here.
This expression comes from a family motto in ancient China. The meaning lies in the fact that it was, and still is, in many places, very difficult for farmers to grow food. It takes a long time to plant food in spring and harvest in autumn. We should remember where our food comes from, and educate our children to cherish everything around them.
wǒ men yào shǐ zhōng láo jì， yī zhōu yī fàn dāng sī lái zh ī bú yì.
我 们 要 始 终 牢 记 ， 一 粥 一 饭 当 思 来 之 不 易。
We should always bear in mind that a porridge and a bowl of rice are not easy to come by.
Are these the kind of things you’d see from a吃货 or a 吃播? Leave your answers in the comments below!
a. Spending an afternoon finding the best noodles within a 2km radius. (吃货 or 吃播?)
b. Eating a bowl of noodles ingredient-by-ingredient and discussing each flavor. (吃货 or 吃播?)
c. Seeing how many noodles you can eat in 20 minutes. (吃货 or 吃播?)
“Eating 健康 (jiànkāng) Healthy in China”
“The Self-Deprecating Language of Rich and Famous”
”A Way to Say “To do” That You’ve Probably Never Seen”
