食 不 厌 精，脍 不 厌 细

shí bù yàn jīng , kuài bù yàn xìdictionary entry

lit. to eat but finely ground grain and finely chopped meat (idiom, from Analects) / fig. to be fastidious about one's food

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-1c7247d24c7230af. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

食不厭精，膾不厭細 食不厌精，脍不厌细 [shi2 bu4 yan4 jing1 , kuai4 bu4 yan4 xi4] /lit. to eat but finely ground grain and finely chopped meat (idiom, from Analects)/fig. to be fastidious about one's food/

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: 食不厭精，膾不厭細

食
shí
to eat / food / animal feed / eclipse
sì
to feed (a person or animal)
不
bù
no / not so / (bound form) not / un-
厌
yàn
(bound form) to loathe / to be fed up with / (literary) to satiate / to satisfy
精
jīng
essence / extract / vitality / energy / semen / sperm / mythical goblin spirit / highly perfected / elite / the pick of sth / proficient (refined ability) / extremely (fine) / selected rice (archaic)
脍
kuài
chopped meat or fish
不
bù
no / not so / (bound form) not / un-
厌
yàn
(bound form) to loathe / to be fed up with / (literary) to satiate / to satisfy
细
xì
thin or slender / finely particulate / thin and soft / fine / delicate / trifling / (of a sound) quiet / frugal

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.