<blockquote>
  <p>At first I thought 一碗饭 means a plate of food, for example if you have rice and chicken, they are considered 两碗饭</p>
</blockquote>

<p>You are not quite right. 一碗饭 or 一碗米饭 just means <strong><em>a bowl of rice</em></strong>. 两碗饭 means <strong><em>two bowls of rice</em></strong>, not <em>one rice and one chicken</em>.</p>

<p>一顿饭 is just <strong>one  meal</strong> in English.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-27T13:08:09.457Z
2018-10-27T13:08:09.457Z
dan
<p>Your intuition is correct.「頓」and also「餐」are measure word for <em>meals</em>, while「碗」is a measure word for <em>bowls</em> (of rice).</p>

<p>Since「飯」refers to both <em>meal</em> and <em>cooked rice</em>, the statement of how much you ate is inferred from the measure word.</p>

<hr>

<p>To add: I would suggest that「碗」does not really refer to <em>plate of food</em>, as Chinese does not present meals that way. The western notion of plates of food should be measured by「份」(<em>a share; portion</em>) or「盤」(<em>tray; plate; dish</em>). These two are also used to count Chinese dishes.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-28T06:18:19.620Z
Ah, yes, I did not think carefully... it should be 份, thanks!
Blaszard
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-12T15:14:54.177Z
@Blaszard The character 饭/飯 refers to **meal** only, not **cooked rice**. Since **noodles** and **cooked wheaten foods** are the main staple foods in northern and western China, we say 饭 for general **meal** while 米 or 米饭/米飯 for **cooked rice**. Instead, **rice** is the main staple foods in southern and western China, they say 饭/飯 for **cooked rice** while 面/麵 or 吃面/吃麵 for **noodles**. So this is just a matter of living habits. The character 饭/飯 represents different meanings in different places by default. It just like that 蛋 represents for 鸡蛋 generally, you could not consider that 蛋 means 鸡蛋.
xenophōn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-12T15:25:02.753Z
I made a mistake, rice is the main staple foods in southern and eastern China. So, 一碗饭 may means **a bowl of rice** in southern and eastern China, also means **a bowl of noodle** in northern and western China, while 一顿饭 means **a meal**.
xenophōn
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-27T10:17:47.660Z
2018-10-27T10:28:41.280Z
2018-10-27T10:28:41.280Z
dROOOze
<p>The measure word of 饭 is 顿 and 碗. But what is the difference between the two and how should I classify them?</p>

<p>At first I thought 一碗饭 means a plate of food, for example if you have rice and chicken, they are considered 两碗饭, while 一顿饭 is the entire meal, so no matter how many plates are on the table, it is considered 一顿饭.</p>

<p>But is my intuition correct or otherwise how can I differentiate them?</p>

<word-choice><measure-word>
Difference between 一顿饭 and 一碗饭
# Difference between 一顿饭 and 一碗饭

(Asked by: username_0 on 2018-10-27)

The measure word of 饭 is 顿 and 碗. But what is the difference between the two and how should I classify them?

At first I thought 一碗饭 means a plate of food, for example if you have rice and chicken, they are considered 两碗饭, while 一顿饭 is the entire meal, so no matter how many plates are on the table, it is considered 一顿饭.

But is my intuition correct or otherwise how can I differentiate them?

**Tags:** word-choice, measure-word


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2018-10-27. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

Your intuition is correct.「頓」and also「餐」are measure word for *meals*, while「碗」is a measure word for *bowls* (of rice).

Since「飯」refers to both *meal* and *cooked rice*, the statement of how much you ate is inferred from the measure word.

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To add: I would suggest that「碗」does not really refer to *plate of food*, as Chinese does not present meals that way. The western notion of plates of food should be measured by「份」(*a share; portion*) or「盤」(*tray; plate; dish*). These two are also used to count Chinese dishes.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Ah, yes, I did not think carefully... it should be 份, thanks!  
> **username_3**: @username_0 The character 饭/飯 refers to **meal** only, not **cooked rice**. Since **noodles** and **cooked wheaten foods** are the main staple foods in northern and western China, we say 饭 for general **meal** while 米 or 米饭/米飯 for **cooked rice**. Instead, **rice** is the main staple foods in southern and western China, they say 饭/飯 for **cooked rice** while 面/麵 or 吃面/吃麵 for **noodles**. So this is just a matter of living habits. The character 饭/飯 represents different meanings in different places by default. It just like that 蛋 represents for 鸡蛋 generally, you could not consider that 蛋 means 鸡蛋.  
> **username_3**: I made a mistake, rice is the main staple foods in southern and eastern China. So, 一碗饭 may means **a bowl of rice** in southern and eastern China, also means **a bowl of noodle** in northern and western China, while 一顿饭 means **a meal**.  

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### Answer by username_1 on 2018-10-27. Score: 3

> At first I thought 一碗饭 means a plate of food, for example if you have rice and chicken, they are considered 两碗饭

You are not quite right. 一碗饭 or 一碗米饭 just means ***a bowl of rice***. 两碗饭 means ***two bowls of rice***, not *one rice and one chicken*.

一顿饭 is just **one meal** in English.


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