民 以 食 为 天

mín yǐ shí wéi tiāndictionary entry

Food is the God of the people. (idiom) / People view food as the primary need. / Food first, ethical niceties second

Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-18694c0d277957c7. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

民以食為天 民以食为天 [min2 yi3 shi2 wei2 tian1] /Food is the God of the people. (idiom); People view food as the primary need./Food first, ethical niceties second/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 民以食為天

民
mín
(bound form) the people / inhabitants of a country
Mín
surname Min
以
yǐ
to use / by means of / according to / in order to / because of / at (a certain date or place)
Yǐ
abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yǐ sè liè]
食
shí
to eat / food / animal feed / eclipse
sì
to feed (a person or animal)
为
wéi
as (in the capacity of) / to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do / by (in the passive voice)
wèi
because of / for / to
天
tiān
day / sky / heaven

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.