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吃香 (chī xiāng) — (colloquial, stative verb) popular, well-liked, in demand

Definition

Colloquial adjective meaning 'popular / in demand', usually about people, skills, or jobs. Often follows 很 or 挺; no direct near-synonym at this level.

adjective
(colloquial, stative verb) popularwell-likedin demand

Examples

  • ，，吃香。
    Tā cháng dé hǎo, yòu huì shuō huà, zài gōng sī hěn chī xiāng.
    He's good-looking and good with words, so he's very popular at the company.
  • 吃香。
    Zuì jìn chéng xù yuán zhè ge zhí yè tǐng chī xiāng de.
    The profession of programmer is quite in demand these days.
  • 吃香。
    Tā de shǒu yì zài quān zi lǐ hěn chī xiāng.
    Her craftsmanship is very well-liked in the circle.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

吃chīeat
香xiāngfragrance

The eat part and the fragrance part combine colloquially to mean popular.

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
乞
乞qǐ吃chī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

吃 combines 口 (mouth) with 乞, which gives the sound; it originally wrote a word meaning to stutter.

Open 吃 →

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

香's early form paired 黍 (glutinous millet) with 口 (mouth), perhaps showing millet drink being taken in or offered.

Open 香 →
Appears in
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