偏好 (piān hǎo) — preference; partiality; special liking

Definition

A more formal word for 'preference' — a settled leaning toward one option. 兴趣 stresses what you enjoy doing; 偏好 is the tilt in your choices.

noun
preferencepartialityspecial liking

Examples

  • 偏好
    Měi gè rén dōu yǒu bù tóng de piān hǎo.
    Everyone has different preferences.
  • 偏好
    Tā de yīn yuè piān hǎo piān xiàng gǔ diǎn.
    His musical preference leans toward classical.
  • 偏好
    Xiāo fèi zhě duì yán sè de piān hǎo huì yǐng xiǎng shì chǎng.
    Consumers' color preferences can affect the market.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

piānpartial
hǎoliking

偏 means partial, 好 means liking, together giving a special preference.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Written in full asrén
Sound part声符shēngfú
biǎnpiān
Same sound today

偏 combines 亻 (人, a person) with 扁, which gives the sound.

Open 偏 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

好 joins 女 (woman) and 子 (child), understood as a woman with a child, linked to goodness or affection.

Open 好 →

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