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Expressing 'to pick up food' with 夹 (jiā)
Structure
Subject + 用筷子 + 夹 + Object
Explanation
The verb 夹 (jiā) means "to pick up" or "to grip between" and is most commonly used to describe picking up food with chopsticks. It often appears with directional complements like 夹出来 (pick out) or 夹起来 (pick up). This is an essential verb for describing Chinese dining etiquette.
Examples
奶奶给我夹了一块红烧肉。
Nǎinai gěi wǒ jiāle yī kuài hóngshāoròu.
Grandma picked up a piece of braised pork for me with her chopsticks.
用筷子夹花生真的很难。
Yòng kuàizi jiā huāshēng zhēn de hěn nán.
It's really hard to pick up peanuts with chopsticks.
他从盘子里夹起一块豆腐放进碗里。
Tā cóng pánzi lǐ jiāqǐ yī kuài dòufu fàngjìn wǎn lǐ.
He picked up a piece of tofu from the plate and put it in his bowl.
奶奶给我夹了一块红烧肉。
Nǎinai gěi wǒ jiā le yī kuài hóngshāo ròu.
Grandma picked up a piece of braised pork for me with her chopsticks.
用筷子夹花生真的很难。
Yòng kuàizi jiā huāshēng zhēn de hěn nán.
It's really hard to pick up peanuts with chopsticks.
他从盘子里夹起一块豆腐放进碗里。
Tā cóng pánzi lǐ jiā qǐ yī kuài dòufu fàng jìn wǎn lǐ.
He picked up a piece of tofu from the plate and put it in his bowl.