吃白饭

吃白飯

chībáifàn

phrase

Meanings

1 to eat plain rice
2 (figurative) to eat without paying
3 to sponge off others
4 to freeload
5 to live off others' labor

Characters

white / plain / for free

Examples

他成天在家吃白饭，什么也不干。

Tā chéngtiān zài jiā chī báifàn, shénme yě bù gàn.

He freeloads at home all day and doesn't do a thing.

穷得只能吃白饭配咸菜。

Qióng de zhǐ néng chī báifàn pèi xiáncài.

So poor he could only eat plain rice with pickled vegetables.

Tips

usage

Two senses, context-dependent. Literal: bare rice with no dishes (poverty). Figurative: eating without contributing — close to English 'freeload' or 'mooch'. Often pejorative.

Stroke Order

吃 chī

白 bái

饭 fàn