白食 (báishí): a free meal (eaten at someone e…

Meanings

1 a free meal (eaten at someone else's expense)
2 a free ride (on food)

Characters

白

bái

free of charge; in vain

食

shí

food; to eat

Examples

他总是去朋友家吃白食。

Tā zǒngshì qù péngyǒu jiā chī báishí.

He's always going to friends' houses to eat for free.

天下没有白食吃。

Tiānxià méiyǒu báishí chī.

There's no free lunch in this world.

Tips

usage

Almost always appears in the verb-object phrase 吃白食 (chī báishí) — 'to eat a free meal', figuratively 'to mooch / sponge off others'. Carries a negative tone: someone who 吃白食 is freeloading.

memory

白 (bái) here means 'in vain / for nothing / for free' — the same 白 in 白拿 (take for free), 白送 (give for free), 白干 (work for nothing). So 白食 = food eaten for nothing.