主食
zhǔ shí · HSK 7
food
🍚🍜 主食 = main (主) + food (食) = the main food = staple
主 means main or host (the dot on top marks the master); 食 means food or to eat. Together: the food at the center of a meal, like rice and noodles.
主 — flame/lamp on top of a stand 王
Originally a pictograph of a lamp with a flame on top of its stand, representing the lord or master of the household who tended the fire. The meaning extended from 'lamp/host' to 'master, owner, main, principal'. The character 炷 (wick) preserves the original 'lamp' sense.