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粗茶淡飯

简粗茶淡饭 · 繁粗茶淡飯

Mandarin · pinyin cū chá dàn fàn

plain tea and simple food
(fig.) bread and water

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Characters in this entry

粗: cū · rough, thick, course; rude
茶: chá · tea
淡: dàn · weak, watery; insipid, tasteless
飯: fàn · cooked rice; food; meal
饭: fàn · cooked rice; food, meal

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

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Mandarin tones

1–2–4–4 · cu1 cha2 dan4 fan4

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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.

粗茶淡飯 · find source passages ↗ · 粗茶淡饭 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

cou1 caa4 daam6 faan6

Cantonese word readings for 粗茶淡飯. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

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

phrase

(idiomatic) to lead a simple life; to live without fancy food or drink

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

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