馋 chán greedy
greedy; gluttonous; to have a craving
怎么记住“馋”: 饣 food + 免 avoid + ⺀ two dots = greedy. The boy grabs food from every plate, tries to avoid mum's eyes and licks two dots of cream off every cake, the most greedy kid there.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
馋 = 饣 food + 𫥎 sly hare
- 饣 food meaning
- 𫥎 sly hare sound
- 免 avoid
- ⺈ knife top
- 口 mouth
- 丿 falling stroke
- 乚 hook
- ⺀ two dots
- 免 avoid
The boy grabs food from every plate, tries to avoid mum's eyes and licks two dots of cream off every cake, the most greedy kid there.
How it came to be
Food gives the meaning and the sign of the sly hare the sound.
用法
- Means craving food / drooling over food, not general greed: 看着照片就馋了 (kànzhe zhàopiàn jiù chán le) just seeing the photo makes my mouth water.
- Distinguish from 贪 (tān, greedy for money/gain): 馋 is specifically about appetite and tasty things. A 馋嘴 (chánzuǐ) person can't resist snacks; 嘴馋 (zuǐchán) = having a sweet tooth / always wanting to nibble.
- Warm, playful spoken word, often used of kids and oneself.