Hi ChinesePod team, my question is this:
So I’ve heard that it is more common to say 你吃饭了吗 instead of 你好吗, but does this work in every context? And how do you ask if you’ve eaten? Is it also just 你吃饭了吗 or is there a different way to ask that?
Hi Alanna,
It depends on each context. If it is not near meal hours, it is still common to ask 你好吗? [nǐ hǎo ma] Otherwise, we often greet each other with 你吃饭了吗? [nǐ chī fàn le ma] It is also with elders that is usually more common to ask if they’ve eaten 你吃饭了吗？ [nǐ chī fàn le ma]. In the past, it was considered very blessed to be able to have a full meal. So over time, asking if people have eaten yet became a common greeting to show care. We can also say 你吃饱了吗？[nǐ chī bǎo le ma], where 饱 means full from eating. So this phrase directly means “Are you full from eating?” and we use it to ask if people have eaten yet.
Cheers.
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Hi Betty, so it is will be also ok if I said 你吃早餐/午餐/晚餐了吗？ instead of 你吃饭了吗？
Hi Eddie,
Yes, you can definitely add in the specific meal you are referring to.