Tofu lovers out there, be careful when you say “ I like to eat tofu“. Don’t be shock if you get a tight slap from a lady when you say this to her as this figure of speech has a negative meaning as well.

Do you know the Chinese word for Tofu is 豆腐 Dòu fu. The Chinese to English translation of 豆 Dòu is beans, and 腐 fǔ is decay or rot.

Does it mean 豆腐 is rotten beans??

Why the Chinese word decay in Tofu?

There are many theories behind the invention of Tofu. One of them states that the discovery of Tofu was by Lord Liu An, a Han Dynasty prince. He was the grandson of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty. After his father died, he became the Prince of Huainan, the lands south of the Huai River, at the age of 16.

Liu An was fond of Taoism and spent much of his time in Alchemy. He especially was interested in the making of immortality pills. He would use the spring water from the mountain to make soy milk, and used the soy milk to create alchemy seedlings. One day, he accidentally spilled Gypsum salt into the soy milk and chemical reaction happened. The soy milk curdled, resembling rot, and tofu was formed.  That is why tofu in Chinese is 豆腐 (rotten beans).

Don’t eat my Tofu

If you are fond of watching Chinese dramas, you should be familiar with this figure of speech “别吃我豆腐” Bié chī wǒ dòufu (don’t eat my tofu). This figure of speech in Chinese has a negative meaning rather than a plain meaning of actually eating someone’s bean curd.

“吃豆腐 Chī dòufu” has 2 meanings. The positive and straight forward meaning is to eat tofu. The second one has a negative meaning and referring to a man flirting and taking advantage of a woman in inappropriate touches. The accusation is not a serious one. Sometimes it can be in a joking manner.

Why tofu?

Why this figure of speech in Chinese uses tofu and not some other things? There are 3 allusions or folklore in relation to this figure of speech.

Allusion 1

The most credible of the three allusions happened In the Han Dynasty. A tofu shop opened by a husband and wife, the wife was beautiful and seductive. Everyone called her “Tofu Xishi 豆腐西施”- Tofu queen. Men went to the tofu shop to flirt with the proprietress under the pretense of buying tofu. They would touch the proprietress’ delicate hands when paying for the tofu. Later, “eating tofu” became synonymous with men and women taking advantage by inappropriate touch.

Allusion 2

In the olden times, tofu shops were mostly run by husbands and wives. The husband would grind tofu in the middle of the night, and the wife would sell them during the day. Customers, mainly men, would go to the tofu shop to flirt with the proprietress under the pretense of “eating tofu. Thus, jealous wives became angry with their husbands asking “Are you going to eat tofu again today?”

Allusion 3

Long ago, tofu was a must dish in the meal prepared by the home holding the funeral. Thus, people going to the funerals to express condolences at that time called it “eat tofu” or “eat tofu rice”.

And, farmers in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, when they had to move the dead body from the home to the tomb, they had to hire some helping hands. When the burial finished, the host would invite the helpers to eat a simple meal comprising mainly of tofu. White was the color to wear at the funerals, those helpers would not say that they were going to help out in the funeral, they would rather say going to “eat tofu rice”.

Negative meaning of eat tofu

In the 1930’s, Shanghai started circulating this humorous and sarcastic new phrase. Men who love to take advantage, flirt or making fun of women were known as “eat tofu”. The closest English translations I can think of is “Hanky–panky” Would you agree?

How to use chi doufu

Positive meaning

要想健康，多吃豆腐少吃肉。

Yào xiǎng jiàn kāng, duō chī dòu fu shǎo chī ròu.

To be healthy, eat more tofu and less meat.

日本人长寿的秘诀是吃豆腐。

Rì běn rén cháng shòu de mì jué shì chī dòu fu.

The secret of Japanese longevity is to eat tofu.

Negative meaning

她拍戏时常被男演员吃豆腐。

Tā pāi xì shí cháng bèi nán yǎn yuán chī dòu fu.

She is often taken advantage of by the actors during filming.

你得小心别让他吃你豆腐

Nǐ dé xiǎo xīn bié ràng tā chī nǐ dòu fu

You have to be careful not to let him take advantage of you.

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