喷香 (pèn xiāng) — delicious; fragrant (strongly appetizing smell)

Definition

As a stative verb, 喷香 describes a strong, appetizing aroma or taste — 'deliciously fragrant'. It is reduplicated in speech (喷喷香) for emphasis, distinguishing it from plain 香.

verb
deliciousfragrant (strongly appetizing smell)

Examples

  • 喷香。
    Mā ma zuò de cài zhēn pèn xiāng.
    The food my mom makes is really fragrant and delicious.
  • 喷香，。
    Zhè wǎn miàn pèn xiāng pū bí, wǒ rěn bú zhù xiǎng chī le.
    This bowl of noodles has an enticing aroma — I can't help but want to eat.
  • 喷香。
    Gāng kǎo hǎo de dàn gāo pèn xiāng jí le.
    The freshly baked cake smells and tastes wonderful.

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.

喷pēnburst out; strongly
香xiāngfragrant

喷 suggests a strong, bursting-out quality, and 香 gives the fragrant, appetizing sense.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 噴; 喷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
賁
賁bì噴pēn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 噴 pairs 口, mouth, with 賁 for the sound; the simplified 喷 is a later shorthand.

Open 喷 →

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 →

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