民以食为天

Traditional: 民以食為天

mín yǐ shí wéi tiān

Dictionary entry

Food is the God of the people. (idiom); People view food as the primary need.

What does 民以食为天 mean?

民以食为天 (mín yǐ shí wéi tiān) has the following dictionary meaning.

1Food is the God of the people. (idiom); People view food as the primary need.

2Food first, ethical niceties second

Character breakdown

Open each character to see its own meanings and vocabulary links.

民Mínsurname Min 以yǐold variant of 以[yi3]食shíto eat · food 为wéias (in the capacity of) · to take sth as 天tiānday · sky

Reviewed examples

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How to pronounce 民以食为天

民以食为天

mín yǐ shí wéi tiān

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Base dictionary data: CC-CEDICT · CC BY-SA 4.0.