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吃不上 vs 吃不了 ? and the like

please help me clarify or make a qingwen on things like 吃不上 vs 吃不了 etc. Thanks !

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Great idea! Stay tuned!!

他家穷到吃不上饭 Too poor to have lunch. Usual mean have no chance to, for financial reason or have no time, etc.
吃不了 1. To describe food with mould or sth that you don’t want to eat, cuz it’s not suitable.
2. To show that the food is not suitable for sb’s body cuz they’re ill or allergic to it.

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The way that I have learned it, is that 吃不上 does mean that there isn’t enough to eat or that a meal was missed. 吃不了 is that there is so much food and you’re unable to finish.

very much looking forward to a thorough Qingwen on this, and similar structure with V+ 不上

I just figured out the difference between these two words. Looks like 吃不上 usually means someone doesn’t have a chance to eat. For example, 在那个饥饿的年代,很多人吃不上饭。(In the age of hunger, many people couldn’t have anything to eat.) 吃不了 means someone is too full to eat more. For example, 这一大桌子菜都太美味了,可是我已经吃不了 or 吃不下了。 The big table dish is so delicious, but I just can’t have more. Hope it makes sense to you. :slight_smile:

吃不下了, reminds me of what happened in China last year, I had lunch with many Chinese collegues, one of them said " 我吃不动了”, I thought for a long time what he meant, I thought he was sick。at last I got answer, she was full ,couldnt eat anything anymore.