chopsticks

IPA/tʃˈɒpstɪks/
KK[tʃˈɑpstˌɪks]IPA/tʃˈɑːpstˌɪks/

chopsticks — noun

1. Thin sticks, usually made of wood, bamboo, or plastic, that are held in one hand

1.nounB1
Definition

Thin sticks, usually made of wood, bamboo, or plastic, that are held in one hand and used in pairs to pick up pieces of food, especially in many East and Southeast Asian countries.

Example

Daichi used his chopsticks to pick up sushi and dip it in soy sauce.

collocation: pick up [food] with chopsticks

The children at the Vietnamese restaurant were learning to hold chopsticks for the first time.

collocation: hold chopsticks

Common collocations
  • a pair of chopsticks
  • use chopsticks
  • hold chopsticks
  • pick up with chopsticks
  • disposable chopsticks
  • bamboo chopsticks
  • wooden chopsticks
  • plastic chopsticks
Antonyms
  • fork

    A Western eating tool with prongs, used instead of chopsticks.

  • knife

    A bladed tool for cutting food, not typically used together with chopsticks for the same purpose.

Grammar Patterns

a pair of chopsticks

use + chopsticks

chopsticks + are

Usage Note

Always used in the plural form. A single stick is referred to as 'one of the chopsticks' or, less commonly, 'a chopstick'. The noun is usually preceded by 'a pair of' when referring to a complete set of two sticks.

Common Mistakes

I eat rice with chopstick.
I eat rice with chopsticks.
The word is always plural; there is no singular countable form for the utensil.
I need two chopsticks.
I need a pair of chopsticks.
The pair is one unit; 'chopsticks' already refers to both sticks together.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Chopsticks, forks, spoons, and tongs are all tools for handling food, but they differ in how they are used. A fork has pointed prongs and is used to stab or scoop food; a spoon has a rounded bowl for liquids and soft foods. Tongs are a single tool with two arms joined at a hinge — they work like a large pair of tweezers to grip food from a distance. Chopsticks, by contrast, are a pair of separate sticks that work together by being held between the thumb and fingers, requiring a pinching motion rather than stabbing or clamping. For example, you stab a piece of meat with a fork, but you pinch a dumpling with chopsticks. Tongs can lift a hot pan lid, but chopsticks lift food directly to the mouth.

fork ↗spoon ↗tongs ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • a pair of chopsticks
  • a set of chopsticks

Prepositions

Etymology

CantoneseChinese Pidgin EnglishEnglish

The English word 'chopsticks' comes from Chinese Pidgin English, where 'chop' meant 'quick' (from Cantonese 快 faai3, also seen in 'chop-chop' for 'quickly'), combined with 'sticks' — describing the tool as 'quick sticks'. The word has been used in English since the late 1600s. The Chinese name 筷子 (kuàizi) similarly means 'quick ones': 筷 (kuài, quick) + 子 (zǐ, noun suffix).