How to Write 饔 (yōng) — Meaning “breakfast; cooked food”

Picture the right part 雍 as a person (亠) with a big mouth (口) eating a bird (隹) for breakfast. The left side 食 reminds you it is food, so imagine a hearty breakfast dish with a bird.

This character has 22 strokes, so take care with each part. The left 食 has 9 strokes, and the right 雍 has 13 strokes; keep both sides balanced in height. A common mistake is making the 口 inside 雍 too small or the 隹 too tall—keep all components proportionate.

Both have the food radical 食 on the left, but the right side differs: 饔 uses 雍, while 饕 uses 號 (a tiger and a horn). In meaning, 饔 refers to daily meals like breakfast, whereas 饕 means gluttony or a mythical gluttonous beast, as in 饕餮.

饔 is not used alone in modern daily speech; it appears in literary or idiomatic expressions like 饔飧不继, meaning 'unable to afford daily meals'. It also appears in the archaic word 饔人 for 'cook'. You may encounter it in classical texts or formal writing about ancient customs.

Common words containing 饔 include: 饔飧 (yōng sūn) — breakfast and dinner; daily meals; 饔人 (yōng rén) — cook; chef (archaic); 饔飧不继 (yōng sūn bù jì) — living from hand to mouth; unable to afford daily meals.