挑食

tiāoshí
verb #34,495

Meanings

  1. 1 to be picky about food
  2. 2 to be a fussy eater

Examples

HSK 6
Háizi tiāoshí shì hěnduō jiāzhǎng tóuténg de wèntí.
Picky eating in kids is a headache for many parents.
HSK 6
Tā shénme dōu chī, cóngbù tiāoshí.
He eats everything and is never picky.

Tips

usage
Common reproach to children. The character is read tiāo here (挑战 'to challenge' is a different reading). Compare 偏食 (piānshí), which leans toward 'partial-eating' = preferring some foods over others, often used in nutrition contexts.
memory
'to pick / select' + 'food' - to pick at your food. The same as in 挑选 (to choose).

Stroke Order

tiāo
shí