noun HSK 3
tofu · bean curd
Meaning
豆腐 is tofu, a soft white food made from soybeans. It's a staple protein in Chinese cuisine with thousands of years of history. The word literally means 'bean' (豆) + 'fermented/curdled' (腐), referring to the process of curdling soy milk to create solid blocks.
Usage
豆腐 is used both as a food term and metaphorically. In food contexts, it often appears with cooking methods like 麻婆豆腐 (mapo tofu) or descriptors like 嫩豆腐 (soft tofu). Colloquially, 吃豆腐 means to take advantage of someone, especially in a flirtatious way.
Examples
- 01我最喜欢吃麻婆豆腐。.I like mapo tofu the most.
- 02这家餐厅的豆腐很新鲜。.The tofu at this restaurant is very fresh.
Characters
Measure words
- 块一块豆腐
- 盒一盒豆腐
Common collocations
- 麻婆豆腐mapo tofu (spicy Sichuan dish)
- 嫩豆腐soft/silken tofu
- 吃豆腐to take advantage of someone (idiom)
- 豆腐脑tofu pudding
Origin
The term dates back over 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty. 腐 originally meant 'rotted' but came to refer to the fermentation and curdling process used to solidify soy milk into tofu.