Mandarin Chinese reference
吃
chī
to eat
Verb pattern · 14 form tables
Mandarin verbs do not change for tense. These tables show aspect, negation, questions and sentence patterns. Short phrases omit the subject; full examples retain theirs.
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Aspect
Plain statement
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | chīeat |
Completed action
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | chī leate |
Experience
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | chī guohave eaten before |
In progress
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | zài chībe eating |
Ongoing state
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | chī zhebe eating |
Future
About to
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | yào chī lebe about to eat |
Will / can
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | huì chīwill eat |
Negative
Not
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | bù chīdo not eat |
Did not
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | méi chīdid not eat |
Questions
Yes no question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | chī ma?do you eat? |
A not A question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | chī bu chī?do you eat? |
Patterns
Affirmative
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| plain | wǒ chī fànI eat |
| completed | wǒ chī le yì wǎn fànI ate a bowl of rice |
| experienced | wǒ chī guo Rìběn càiI have eaten Japanese food before |
| in progress | wǒ zài chī fànI am eating |
| holding, alongside another action | wǒ chī zhe fàn kàn diànshìI watch TV while eating |
| about to | wǒ yào chī fàn leI am about to eat |
Negated
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| plain | wǒ bù chī fànI do not eat |
| completed | wǒ méi chī fànI did not eat |
| experienced | wǒ méi chī guo Rìběn càiI have never eaten Japanese food |
| in progress | wǒ méi zài chī fànI am not eating |
| holding, alongside another action | wǒ méi chī fànI did not eat |
| about to | wǒ hái bù chī fànI am not going to eat yet |
Question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| plain | nǐ chī fàn ma?Do you eat? |
| completed | nǐ chī le yì wǎn fàn ma?Did you eat a bowl of rice? |
| experienced | nǐ chī guo Rìběn cài ma?Have you ever eaten Japanese food? |
| in progress | nǐ zài chī fàn ma?Are you eating? |
| holding, alongside another action | nǐ chī zhe fàn kàn diànshì ma?Do you watch TV while eating? |
| about to | nǐ yào chī fàn le ma?Are you about to eat? |
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Mandarin Chinese entries.