食不厌精
shí bù yàn jīng
to be very particular about food; the finer the better
Character by character
食shí
grain
grain
不bù
not
not
厌yàn
tire of
tire of
精jīng
refined
refined
Example
爷爷一辈子食不厌精，连煮白粥都要挑米。
All his life Grandpa has been particular about food; even for plain rice porridge he chooses the rice.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From 《论语·乡党》: 食不厌精，脍不厌细, grain never too finely polished, meat never too finely sliced. Today it praises a gourmet or teases a fussy eater.
Learn this in Lesson 218 · HSK 9+: 文人写吃 (Writers at the table)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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