吃
chī
Rice, pills, and losses all go in the same mouth
The picture A mouth opens, receives what was outside, and passes it down inside the body. 吃 is chewing something in; 喝 is letting it pour straight down.
Where the picture shows up in 吃
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rice goes in
我们先吃饭吧。
wǒmen xiān chīfàn ba
Let's eat first.
Chopsticks lift rice into the mouth and the cheeks start working
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a pill goes in
记得饭后吃药。
jìde fàn hòu chī yào
Remember to take your medicine after meals.
A tablet is tipped from the palm into the mouth and washed down with water
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the mouth opens somewhere else
今天中午在外面吃。
jīntiān zhōngwǔ zài wàimiàn chī
We're eating out for lunch today.
Walking past the kitchen table into a shop, sitting down, and the first mouthful going in there instead
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the mouth won't open
我不舒服,吃不下。
wǒ bù shūfu, chī bu xià
I feel sick — I can't eat.
The spoon stops in front of the lips and goes back down into the bowl
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a loss goes in
这样做你会吃亏。
zhèyàng zuò nǐ huì chīkuī
Do it that way and you'll lose out.
Someone swallows the contract and the money in their pocket shrinks
All of it in one picture
吃 is one picture: a mouth opening to take something in. Rice goes in and it's having a meal; a pill goes in and it's taking medicine. Move the place where things go in and you are eating out; keep the mouth shut and nothing will go down. Send a loss down that same mouth instead of food and it becomes taking a hit.