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How to Say ‘Eat fewer staple foods at each meal’ in Simplified Chinese

每餐少吃点主食

měi cān shǎo chī diǎn zhǔ shí

[may tsan shaow chī dyen zhǔshí]

🇨🇳 In China: 主食 (zhǔ shí) means rice, noodles, steamed buns and the like. These make up the bulk of a Chinese meal, so cutting them back is the main dietary advice given to diabetics in China.

Phrase Breakdown

每餐

měi cān

every meal

每 (měi, every) + 餐 (cān, meal). A dipping měi, then a high, flat cān.

Example

每餐吃蔬菜。

Eat vegetables at every meal.

Words in this phrase

每

měi

[may]

every; each

Used before a time word to mean 'every' or 'each'.

Example

我每周都给爸妈打电话。

I call my parents every week.

餐

cān

[tsan]

meal

A portion of food eaten at one time.

Example

我想预订一顿晚餐。

I want to reserve a dinner.

少吃点主食

shǎo chī diǎn zhǔ shí

eat a bit less staple food

少吃点 (shǎo chī diǎn, eat a bit less) + 主食 (zhǔshí, staple food).

Example

晚上少吃点主食。

Eat less staple food in the evening.

Words in this phrase

少

shǎo

[shaow]

less; fewer

Means a smaller amount or lower quantity.

Example

这次您少收一点吧。

Please charge a little less this time.

吃

chī

[chī]

to eat

General term for consuming food.

Example

他月底的时候只能靠吃土过日子。

He can only barely make ends meet at the end of the month.

点

diǎn

[dyen]

a little; some

After a verb, 点 means “a bit/some,” making the suggestion sound softer and more polite (e.g., 吃点…).

Example

来，吃点饺子，暖和一下。

Here, have some dumplings to warm up a bit.

主食

zhǔ shí

[zhǔshí]

staple food

Rice, noodles, bread and other main carbohydrates.

Example

米饭是南方的主食。

Rice is the staple food in the south.

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