DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

朝饔夕飧

Mandarin · pinyin zhāo yōng xī sūn

(lit.) breakfast in the morning and supper in the evening (idiom)
(fig.) to do nothing but eat and drink

Full entryShow on map

Characters in this entry

朝: cháo · dynasty; morning
饔: yōng · breakfast; eat prepared food
夕: xī · evening, night, dusk; slanted
飧: sūn · evening meal, supper; cooked food

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

Explore the spelling

Mandarin tones

1–1–1–1 · zhao1 yong1 xi1 sun1

Compare attested words with these syllables ↗

Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

Connected dictionary

4character links

Explore word families ↗Compare pronunciations ↗Open character structure ↗

Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.

Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

朝饔夕飧 · find source passages ↗

Explore Classical grammar ↗

Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

ziu1 jung1 zik6 syun1

Cantonese word readings for 朝饔夕飧. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) talentless (used to describe someone who does little other than eat)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack