<p>As indicated by other answers, 下 here is a resultative complement.</p>
<p>Compare 饭吃不下 to 饭不吃.  饭不吃 implies that you won't eat anything at all because you 着急.  饭吃不下 implies that you try to eat something but you have no appetite and end it up that you might not have anything in your stomach because you 着急.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-27T00:32:29.070Z
2020-08-27T00:32:29.070Z
dan
<p>I think it is just the very pragmatic Chinese language: we masticate, then we swallow the resulting mash <em>down</em> 下.</p>
<p>我吃不下饭。<br />
I couldn't swallow a(nother) thing.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-26T21:56:11.587Z
2020-08-26T21:56:11.587Z
Pedroski
<p>吃不下饭 can be found in <strong>Adsotrans</strong> as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>VERB<br />
to be unable to eat</p>
</blockquote>
<p>吃不下 Is recorded in multiple dictionaries. Here’s the entry from <strong>Pleco C-E</strong>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>VERB<br />
not feel like eating; be unable to eat any more (opp. 吃得下)</p>
<p>他不太舒服, 吃不下饭。<br />
Tā bù tài shūfu, chī bu xià fàn.<br />
He’s not very well and doesn’t feel like eating.</p>
<p>谢谢, 我实在吃不下了。<br />
Xièxie, wǒ shízài chī bu xià le.<br />
Thanks, but I really can’t eat any more. or Thanks, I’ve really had enough.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The reason I included this is because it includes the opposite: 吃得下.</p>
<p>Some verbs can be qualified with 得下 or 不下 indicating ability or lack thereof.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-26T12:48:55.553Z
2020-08-26T12:48:55.553Z
Mou某
<p>Yes it does.</p>
<p>I won't go into the details of your textbook example. It may not be the best one because in that sentence the 下 could probably be replaced by some other result complement and roughly keep the same translation in English.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, 下 as a result complement often has the meaning of <strong>fitting</strong> or <strong>containing</strong> (the potential complement as in &quot;V 得 Res.&quot; and &quot;V 不 Res.&quot; constructions is similar to the result complement).</p>
<p>Some examples:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>他车子能坐<strong>下</strong>5个人 (= his car can accommodate 5 people)</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>电梯里站得下10个人 (= ten people can fit in the elevator = the elevator can contain ten people)</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>这个箱子太小了，装不下这么多衣服 (= this box is too small, it can't contain so many clothes)</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>我吃不下饭 (= I can't eat any more = I can't fit any more food in my stomach, or, my stomach can't contain any more food)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As additional proof of the semantic value of 下 in this construction, you can replace it with another result complement to a different effect:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>我吃不<strong>了</strong>饭 (= I can't eat = meaning that something is preventing you from doing so, instead of your stomach being unable to eat more, e.g. 今天我工作太忙，吃不了饭)</p>
</blockquote>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-27T14:52:34.557Z
Is 了 in 我吃不了饭 pronounced "liao3"?
musialmi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-27T14:56:18.043Z
@musialmi yes, it is
blackgreen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-26T22:07:03.177Z
2020-08-26T22:16:10.770Z
2020-08-26T22:16:10.770Z
blackgreen
<blockquote>
<p>我们着急得吃不下饭，睡不好觉。</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I understand that 好 in 睡不好觉 adds the meaning of &quot;well&quot;, so &quot;sleep well&quot; instead of &quot;sleep&quot;, but does 下 in 吃不下饭 change anything?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-26T15:29:02.230Z
A side note: 我们着急得吃不下饭 doesn't look grammatical strictly speaking.  It could be either 我们急得吃不下饭 or 我们着急急得吃不下饭.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-26T15:40:33.480Z
@dan I think it is OK. Instead, 我们着急急得吃不下饭 sounds weird.
fefe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-26T16:50:32.047Z
@dan @ fefe Thank you for your comments. It's a sentence from a textbook.
musialmi
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-26T23:40:31.217Z
@fefe Colloquially, I agree with you, 我们着急得吃不下饭 might be said accidentally. But in strict grammar, it's not grammatical. In fact, when I searched the phrase 着急得 in Baidu, I haven't got a hit there. Not sure if you accept 我们着急,急得吃不下饭. 我们着急急得吃不下饭 might look clumsy. But we also have this clumsy grammatical sentence: 我们说话说得累死了。
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-27T13:29:59.737Z
@dan You cannot find 着急得 because it is usually just 急得. 着急得 is the same as 兴奋得 (他兴奋得吃不下饭)，高兴得，伤心得 ... It is very different from the structre 说话说得累了, where you use the verb again before the 得 again after a VO structure. Here 着急 is a single adjective.
fefe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-27T15:31:07.587Z
@fefe 着急 is not an adjective. 着 is a verb. 急 here could be adjective or noun. Now, i see how you come to the idea. You take 着急 the same as 兴奋. Yes, 兴奋 can be a verb, adjective, noun. 兴奋得睡不着觉 is perfectly grammatical. However, 着急 is a phrase, not an adjective. You can't make it the same way. You can check this in dictionaries.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-27T15:48:54.010Z
@fefe You might take 着急 as a verb or a verbal phrase, but indeed it's not an adjective.
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-27T16:10:38.130Z
@fefe The word you should compare to is 生气 , which is also a verb or a verbal phrase. Do you say 我生气得吃不下饭？ By the same token, 我着急得吃不下饭 is incorrect. Do you accept 我生气气得吃不下饭？and 我着急急得吃不下饭？
dan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-28T01:50:18.140Z
@dan "Do you accept 我生气气得吃不下饭？" No. It should be 我生气生得吃不下饭。
fefe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-28T01:52:44.837Z
@dan Actually, 我气得吃不下饭 is much better ...
fefe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-28T02:02:05.643Z
@fefe Yes, I agree 我气得吃不下饭 and 我急得吃不下饭 are better. Grammatically, 我着急得吃不下饭 is incorrect. That's my point. As for 我着急急得吃不下饭 or 我生气生得(气得)吃不下饭，they are just personal preferences. Some like one and some might like the other. We can agree to disagree here.
dan
<meaning><separable-verbs><result-complement>
Does 下 in 吃不下饭 convey any meaning?
# Does 下 in 吃不下饭 convey any meaning?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-26)

> 我们着急得吃不下饭，睡不好觉。

I understand that 好 in 睡不好觉 adds the meaning of "well", so "sleep well" instead of "sleep", but does 下 in 吃不下饭 change anything?

**Tags:** meaning, separable-verbs, result-complement

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: A side note: 我们着急得吃不下饭 doesn't look grammatical strictly speaking.  It could be either 我们急得吃不下饭 or 我们着急急得吃不下饭.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 I think it is OK. Instead, 我们着急急得吃不下饭 sounds weird.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 @ username_2 Thank you for your comments. It's a sentence from a textbook.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 Colloquially, I agree with you, 我们着急得吃不下饭 might be said accidentally. But in strict grammar, it's not grammatical. In fact, when I searched the phrase 着急得 in Baidu, I haven't got a hit there. Not sure if you accept 我们着急,急得吃不下饭. 我们着急急得吃不下饭 might look clumsy. But we also have this clumsy grammatical sentence: 我们说话说得累死了。  
> **username_2**: @username_1 You cannot find 着急得 because it is usually just 急得. 着急得 is the same as 兴奋得 (他兴奋得吃不下饭)，高兴得，伤心得 ... It is very different from the structre 说话说得累了, where you use the verb again before the 得 again after a VO structure. Here 着急 is a single adjective.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 着急 is not an adjective. 着 is a verb. 急 here could be adjective or noun. Now, i see how you come to the idea. You take 着急 the same as 兴奋. Yes, 兴奋 can be a verb, adjective, noun. 兴奋得睡不着觉 is perfectly grammatical. However, 着急 is a phrase, not an adjective. You can't make it the same way. You can check this in dictionaries.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 You might take 着急 as a verb or a verbal phrase, but indeed it's not an adjective.  
> **username_1**: @username_2 The word you should compare to is 生气 , which is also a verb or a verbal phrase. Do you say 我生气得吃不下饭？ By the same token, 我着急得吃不下饭 is incorrect. Do you accept 我生气气得吃不下饭？and 我着急急得吃不下饭？  
> **username_2**: @username_1 "Do you accept 我生气气得吃不下饭？" No. It should be 我生气生得吃不下饭。  
> **username_2**: @username_1 Actually, 我气得吃不下饭 is much better ...  
> **username_1**: @username_2 Yes, I agree 我气得吃不下饭 and 我急得吃不下饭 are better. Grammatically, 我着急得吃不下饭 is incorrect. That's my point. As for 我着急急得吃不下饭 or 我生气生得(气得)吃不下饭，they are just personal preferences. Some like one and some might like the other. We can agree to disagree here.  

---

## 4 answers

### Answer by username_5 on 2020-08-26. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Yes it does.

I won't go into the details of your textbook example. It may not be the best one because in that sentence the 下 could probably be replaced by some other result complement and roughly keep the same translation in English.

Generally speaking, 下 as a result complement often has the meaning of **fitting** or **containing** (the potential complement as in "V 得 Res." and "V 不 Res." constructions is similar to the result complement).

Some examples:

> 他车子能坐**下**5个人 (= his car can accommodate 5 people)

> 电梯里站得下10个人 (= ten people can fit in the elevator = the elevator can contain ten people)

> 这个箱子太小了，装不下这么多衣服 (= this box is too small, it can't contain so many clothes)

> 我吃不下饭 (= I can't eat any more = I can't fit any more food in my stomach, or, my stomach can't contain any more food)

As additional proof of the semantic value of 下 in this construction, you can replace it with another result complement to a different effect:

> 我吃不**了**饭 (= I can't eat = meaning that something is preventing you from doing so, instead of your stomach being unable to eat more, e.g. 今天我工作太忙，吃不了饭)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Is 了 in 我吃不了饭 pronounced "liao3"?  
> **username_5**: @username_0 yes, it is  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-08-27. Score: 1

As indicated by other answers, 下 here is a resultative complement.

Compare 饭吃不下 to 饭不吃. 饭不吃 implies that you won't eat anything at all because you 着急. 饭吃不下 implies that you try to eat something but you have no appetite and end it up that you might not have anything in your stomach because you 着急.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-08-26. Score: 0

I think it is just the very pragmatic Chinese language: we masticate, then we swallow the resulting mash *down* 下.

我吃不下饭。  
I couldn't swallow a(nother) thing.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2020-08-26. Score: -1

吃不下饭 can be found in **Adsotrans** as:

> VERB  
> to be unable to eat

吃不下 Is recorded in multiple dictionaries. Here’s the entry from **Pleco C-E**:

> VERB  
> not feel like eating; be unable to eat any more (opp. 吃得下)
>
> 他不太舒服, 吃不下饭。  
> Tā bù tài shūfu, chī bu xià fàn.  
> He’s not very well and doesn’t feel like eating.
>
> 谢谢, 我实在吃不下了。  
> Xièxie, wǒ shízài chī bu xià le.  
> Thanks, but I really can’t eat any more. or Thanks, I’ve really had enough.

The reason I included this is because it includes the opposite: 吃得下.

Some verbs can be qualified with 得下 or 不下 indicating ability or lack thereof.


---

