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Level 2 · Lesson 3 你吃什么？
What do you eat?
你吃什么？我吃饺子。
吃 and its food object — and why 什么 stays in the object's own seat.
听 · Listen
对话
Anna, what are you eating?
I'm having dumplings. And you?
I'm having noodles.
Do you eat meat?
I eat meat, and I eat vegetables too.
I don't eat meat — I eat vegetables and rice.
What is Teacher Wang having?
Teacher Wang is having dumplings too!
讲解 · Explanation
我吃饺子。我吃面条。我吃肉。
Subject, verb, object — the same three-slot frame as 我是学生, with a real action verb in the middle. Nothing is added to 吃 for who eats or when they eat it: 我吃, 你吃, 他吃, 王老师吃 all use the identical form. Chinese verbs never change shape.
你吃什么？我吃饺子。
Look at where 什么 sits: exactly where 饺子 will sit in the answer. Chinese does not move a question word to the front the way English moves 'what'. Build the statement first, then drop 什么 into the slot you want filled — 你吃什么？ 王老师吃什么？ The word order of question and answer is identical.
我吃饭。我吃中国菜。
饭 fàn is cooked rice, and also a meal of any kind — 吃饭 is simply 'to eat', whether or not rice is on the table. 菜 cài is a vegetable, and also a cooked dish, and so 中国菜 is Chinese food as a whole. Both words are wider than the English word you first learn them by, and both are everywhere in daily speech.
生词 · Vocabulary
| 词 | Meaning | 注 · Note |
|---|---|---|
| 吃 | to eat | solids only — drinks take 喝 |
| 饭 | cooked rice; a meal | 吃饭 = to eat, to have a meal |
| 菜 | vegetable; a cooked dish | 中国菜 = Chinese food |
| 肉 | meat | |
| 面条 | noodles | |
| 饺子 | dumplings | second syllable neutral |
练习 · Practice
用一用 · Use it
我吃……，我不吃……
Say four things you eat and one thing you do not: 我吃饺子，我吃面条，我吃菜，我吃饭，我不吃肉。 Then ask the person next to you 你吃什么？ and listen for the answer landing in the same slot your 什么 came out of. Finish with 王老师吃什么？ — the question works for anybody, just swap the subject.