Chinese internet slangfoodie

吃货 chī huò

A person who lives to eat.

The short answer

EverydayNow commonChecked November 2026

Chihuo means a foodie: a person who loves to eat and is always ready for the next meal. It was once an insult for a person who could only eat. Now people use it about themselves with pride.

Literal: to eat + goods (货, here a rude word for a person)Register: Everyday word. Warm and joking.

In a chat

里昂 Leon
你去成都玩了几天？
Nǐ qù Chéngdū wánle jǐ tiān?
How many days were you in Chengdu?
灯灯 Dengdeng
五天，每天吃六顿。
Wǔ tiān, měitiān chī liù dùn.
Five days. Six meals a day.
里昂 Leon
六顿？你真是个吃货！
Liù dùn? Nǐ zhēn shì ge chīhuò!
Six meals? You're a real foodie!
灯灯 Dengdeng
去成都就是为了吃啊。
Qù Chéngdū jiù shì wèile chī a.
Eating is the reason to go to Chengdu!

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How to reply

对，我就是吃货！
Duì, wǒ jiù shì chīhuò!
Yes, I'm a foodie!
下次带我一起去吃。
Xià cì dài wǒ yīqǐ qù chī.
Take me with you next time.

When not to use it

To a stranger or an older person, 吃货 can sound like you call them greedy. Say 喜欢吃东西 (likes to eat).
Do not use it in formal writing. A food expert is a 美食家.

What it means

A 吃货 is a person who loves food: they plan trips around meals, know every snack in their city, and are hungry again after dinner. The word is warm, and people use it to describe themselves.

货 means goods, but it is also an old, rude word for a person, as in 蠢货 (idiot). That is why 吃货 first meant a person who eats and does nothing else.

How people use it

It is a noun: 我是个吃货, 吃货们 (all you foodies). 吃货 posts are photos of food, lists of places to eat and plans for a food trip.

Friends say 你真是个吃货 when someone orders a lot or talks about food all day. It is a tease, not an insult.

Where it comes from

eChineseLearning explains that 吃货 was first an insult for people who could do nothing but eat. Its meaning became softer as social media and the food documentary 舌尖上的中国 (A Bite of China) made it popular, and today it is neutral or positive.

In 2020, The World of Chinese described it as a slang word for people of all ages who cannot resist good food.

In use

2 examples

我(Wǒ)是(shì)个(ge)吃(chī)货(huò)，最(zuì)喜(xǐ)欢(huan)去(qù)夜(yè)市(shì)。

I'm a foodie. Night markets are my favorite.

吃(Chī)货(huò)们(men)都(dōu)知(zhī)道(dào)这(zhè)家(jiā)店(diàn)。

Every foodie knows this place.

The characters

Explore individually

to eat

goods; (rude) a person

Individual character meanings do not always explain the meaning of the whole word.

Sources

This guide is original Dengdeng editorial content, offered under CC BY-SA 4.0. The linked dictionary entries adapt CC-CEDICT under the same license.