Why Does 'Eating Tofu' Mean 'Sexual Harassment' in Chinese?!

Foreigners who visit China are always impressed by the vast variety of local food and snacks. The Chinese love to eat and the country boasts one of the world's greatest food cultures. There is a famous Chinese saying that "mín yǐ shí wéi tiān(民以食为天)," which literally means people regard food as heaven, showing how important the cuisine is in daily life here.

Chinese people often greet each other by asking "chī le ma（吃了吗）?" ("Have you eaten?"). They don't really expect you to answer that question; it's just like asking "how are you?" Throughout history, Chinese people have created many other phrases and idioms relating to food and eating, which sometimes confuses foreigners unfamiliar with a food-centric culture.  

1. 食柠檬 chī níng méng

Literally, it means"eat lemon" but actually it has another meaning: to get rejected.

2. 吃豆腐 chī dòu fu

Literally meaning "eat bean curd (tofu)." 

But in fact, it implies "to take advantage of men or women physically or verbally through actions bearing sexual connotations." 

It relates to an old story of a young, female tofu shop owner with smooth and flawless skin who ate tofu all the time. The woman often flirts with male customers in order to sell them more tofu, and many men visited her shop frequently, pretending that they were there to "eat tofu" but in fact just wanted to gaze upon the lovely shop owner.

3. 饭碗 fàn wǎn

It literally translates to "rice bowl," but in Chinese, it also refers to an occupation that offers the basic elements required to live. The iron rice bowl is more widely known, which means a job with stable income and benefits that are as solid as iron, usually positions at a State-owned company.

4. 炒鱿鱼 chǎo yóu yú

"Fried squid" is the literal translation, but it also means being fired or sacked from a job. It was said in the old days that Chinese workers were provided with lodging by their employer but had to prepare their own bedding. When an employee was fired, he or she would have to roll up their blankets. People also noticed that squids would curl up when fried, sharing a similarity with rolled-up bedding. As a result, the fried squid was used to refer to being fired.

5. 吃醋 chī cù

Literally, it means "drink vinegar." There's an anecdote that in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) there was once a powerful and capable official. One day the emperor sent him a young and beautiful girl to be his concubine. However, the official's wife was strongly against it. To test the wife's love and courage, the emperor told her either to accept her husband's concubine or drink poison. She preferred the poison. The emperor was impressed and agreed not to give her husband another woman. Today it means to be jealous.

6. 吃官司 chī guān si

Literally, it means"eat a lawsuit" and it can be explained as "suing or being sued by someone."

7. 吃闭门羹 chī bì mén gēng

Literally, it means "eat the closed door soup," which refers to being refused entry.

8. 吃土 chī tǔ

Literally, it means "eat dirt" but it can be figuratively translated to mean ‘being short of money’. This phrase gained popularity in 2015 during Single's Day on November 11. Many people complained on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblog, that they had spent so much money buying clothes and other useless stuff that they could only afford to eat dirt in the coming month.

9. 吃软饭 chī ruǎn fàn

Literally, it means "eat soft rice" and it can be referred to a man raised by a rich woman. He has lived in woman’s house and used a woman's money.

Let's watch a video showing how foreign people reacted when they heard some Chinese eating phrases.

Video:

https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?width=500&height=375&auto=0&vid=b06369oqn98

Did you get your answer? 

Chinese phrases often have interesting back-stories, and are helpful to know and are able to recognize. 

Leave your comments below!

Editor: Crystal H

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