What is the meaning of 趁 in 萝卜饼要趁热吃?

Question

...火最好用文火，等能闻到香味时，便可开锅了。萝卜饼要趁热吃，喜欢口味重的，还可以加少许酱油和醋。...

This is from the Standard Course Book of HSK5, chapter 19. What is the meaning of 趁?

萝卜饼(radish cake)要(must)趁(you take advantage of that being)热(hot)吃(to eat it)

Or

萝卜饼(radish cake)要(must)趁(be rich in)热(hotness / warmth)吃(to be eaten)

?

Or something else?

Answer 1

The answer is the first one: "to take advantage of". This is the more common meaning, and also the more flexible meaning, with common collocations being:

• 趁机会
• 趁年轻
• 趁早
• 趁势

... as well as several well-known 成语, like:

• 趁热打铁
• 趁人之危
• 趁火打劫
• 趁乱逃脱

趁热吃 is very idiomatic, and commonly heard in Chinese households.

It can also be used in clauses, often in the durative 趁着, as found in e.g. a casual search of novels on Google Books:

• 趁着课间操后的一点时间

"To have a lot of" is a marginal meaning in modern standard Mandarin, fossilised in the expression 趁钱 to be rich in wealth, to be wealthy, which also has a homophonous variant 称钱. In other varieties of Chinese, e.g. Min varieties, this expression means to earn money; this is possibly how the meaning was extended, although that is currently just speculation.

Answer 2

趁 = take advantage of, or avail oneself = at a certain time or opportunity to do something (某个时间或机会进行某种事情) = while (當).

趁热吃 = eat while it is hot (so to take the advantage of the warmth).

Answer 3

就是要在热的状态吃，不然胡萝卜饼凉了怎么办？凉了可就不好吃啊。