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品味 (pǐn wèi) — (verb) to taste, to taste, to savor, to appreciate (aesthetic qualities); (noun) taste, aesthetic judgment

Definition

品味 is taste in the aesthetic sense — refined judgment in art, music, or style. 口味 is everyday food/lifestyle preference; 滋味 is a literal flavor or felt experience. As a verb, it means to savor or appreciate quality, broader than 品尝 (tasting food).

verb
to tasteto tasteto savorto appreciate (aesthetic qualities)
noun
tasteaesthetic judgment
Easily confused

Examples

  • 品味。
    Tā pǐn wèi le zhè bēi chá de xiāng qì.
    He savored the aroma of this cup of tea.
  • 品味。
    Tā de chuān yī pǐn wèi hěn yōu yǎ.
    Her taste in dressing is very elegant.
  • 品味。
    Wǒ xǐ huan pǐn wèi gǔ diǎn yīn yuè zhōng de qíng gǎn.
    I like to appreciate the emotions in classical music.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

品pǐnto taste
味wèiflavor

'品' conveys tasting or evaluating, while '味' brings flavor, together meaning to savor something or its aesthetic taste.

Characters in this word

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

品 repeats the same simple shape three times, representing various objects.

Open 品 →

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
未
未wèi味wèi
Same sound today

味 combines 口 (mouth) with 未, which gives the sound wèi; the mouth part relates to taste.

Open 味 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Art & Fine ArtsSenses

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