饱 (bǎo) · full (from eating), satisfied

Meanings

1 full (from eating)
2 satisfied

Characters

饱

bǎo

full (from eating); satisfied

Food radical 饣 + 包 (wrap/bag) - stomach wrapped full of food.

Examples

HSK 1

我吃饱了。

Wǒ chī bǎo le.

I'm full.

HSK 1

你吃饱了吗？

Nǐ chī bǎo le ma?

Have you eaten enough?

HSK 2

别吃太饱。

Bié chī tài bǎo.

Don't eat too much.

Tips

grammar

饱 is a result complement: 吃饱 (eat until full). Pattern: verb + 饱 = do until full/satisfied.

culture

In Chinese culture, the host will keep asking 吃饱了吗 to make sure guests have eaten enough. It's polite to say you're full.

Components

radical

饣 shí

food radical

Left radical 饣 is the simplified side-form of 食 (food/eat). It marks 饱 as a food-state: full from eating, sated. The food radical groups 饱 with the eating family - 饭 (cooked rice), 饿 (hungry), 馋 (greedy), 餐 (meal) - and 饱/饿 form the natural pair of 'full vs hungry'.

phonetic

包 bāo

to wrap; bundle

Right phonetic 包 supplies the sound - bāo shifted to bǎo by tone change only. 包 itself depicts a fetus wrapped in the womb (the 巳 inside) - by extension 'to wrap, contain'. Faint semantic flavour: a 饱 belly is a wrapped/full container of food. Same phonetic in 抱 (hug), 跑 (run), 炮 (cannon), 泡 (bubble).