碗 (wǎn) - bowl — a deep, round dish used for & also refers to bowl-shaped objects.

碗Tone 3

wǎn ｜ 13 strokes ｜ radical:

婉万

碗 · wǎn

bowl — a deep, round dish used for serving food, especially rice or noodles;

also refers to bowl-shaped objects.

bowl — a deep, round dish used foralso refers to bowl-shaped objects.

Usage highlights

rice bowlceramic bowlsoup bowlwashing bowlsbroken bowllarge bowl

Synonyms

  • 钵— bowl, alms bowl (often deeper)
  • 盂— bowl, basin (archaic or ceremonial)

Antonyms

  • 盘— plate, dish (flat vs. deep)
  • 杯— cup (for drinking vs. eating)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • Please pass me a rice bowl (饭碗).
  • She broke a ceramic bowl (瓷碗).
  • We need bowls for the soup (汤碗).
  • He washed all the bowls after dinner (洗碗).

Collocations

  • rice bowl(饭碗)
  • ceramic bowl(瓷碗)
  • soup bowl(汤碗)
  • washing bowls(洗碗)
  • broken bowl(破碗)
  • large bowl(大碗)

Idioms

  • Iron rice bowl(铁饭碗 — secure job)
  • Broken bowl and chipped dish(破碗破摔 — to act recklessly when things go wrong)
  • Eating from the same pot and bowl(同锅同碗 — sharing the same fate)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Bowls are fundamental to Chinese dining culture, used primarily for rice and soups.
  • The 'iron rice bowl' idiom reflects historical employment security in state-owned enterprises.
  • Ceramic bowls have been used in China since ancient times, with distinctive regional styles.

FAQ