HSK 3.0 · LEVEL 1
吃
To eat, to consume, or to swallow.
Free Chinese vocabulary flashcard · HSK 1
Why does 吃 look like this?
The character consists of the mouth radical 口 (kǒu) on the left, indicating an action involving the mouth, and 乞 (qǐ) on the right, which provides the sound 'qi' and originally meant 'to beg' or 'to gasp'. Together, they represent the act of putting something in your mouth to consume it!