饱
full (after eating)
bǎo
What does 饱 mean?
饱 (bǎo) is the adjective for 'full from eating' — the satisfied feeling after a meal. It almost always appears as a resultative complement after 吃 (chī, 'eat'): 吃饱 ('eat one's fill / be full'), 我吃饱了 ('I'm full'). It can also stand alone as a predicate: 你饱了吗？ ('Are you full?').
Two contrasts matter for English speakers: first, 饱 is ONLY for fullness from food, not for containers, schedules, or storage — a full glass uses 满 (mǎn), not 饱. Second, the Chinese custom at a meal is to insist guests eat more, and 我吃饱了 is the polite, expected way to signal 'no thank you, I've had enough' — it is not rude. The opposite is 饿 (è, hungry). The food radical 饣on the left is a strong clue to meaning.
Note: Neutral. 我吃饱了 ('I'm full')
Character breakdown
full from eating; satisfied
Memory hook: Food radical 饣 + 包 (wrap / contain) = your stomach is packed full of food.
Example sentences
谢谢，我吃饱了。
Xièxie, wǒ chī bǎo le.
Thanks, I'm full.
spoken, polite
你饱了吗？要不要再吃一点？
Nǐ bǎo le ma? Yào bu yào zài chī yìdiǎn?
Are you full? Do you want a bit more?
spoken
我没吃饱，还想再来一碗。
Wǒ méi chī bǎo, hái xiǎng zài lái yì wǎn.
I'm not full yet — I'd like another bowl.
spoken
今天的饭真好吃，我吃得很饱。
Jīntiān de fàn zhēn hǎochī, wǒ chī de hěn bǎo.
Today's meal was really good — I ate till I was very full.
spoken
Common phrases with 饱
Don't confuse 饱 with
满 means 'full' for containers, spaces, or capacity — a full glass, a full bus, a full schedule. 饱 is ONLY for being full from food. 杯子满了 ('the cup is full') vs 我吃饱了 ('I'm full').
Same pinyin different tone — 包 (bāo) is 'bag / to wrap.' 饱 (bǎo) is the full-from-eating adjective. Tone difference and the food radical 饣 distinguish them.
Same pinyin and tone — 宝