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胃口 (wèi kǒu) — appetite (desire for food); liking, taste, interest (figurative, as in 'to one's liking')

Definition

Literally 'appetite' (for food), but also used figuratively for personal 'taste / liking' as in 合我胃口. Compare 口味 (flavor of food or a person's food preference) and 趣味 (aesthetic 'interest/fun').

noun
appetite (desire for food)likingtasteinterest (figurative, as in 'to one's liking')

Examples

  • ，胃口。
    Tā shēng bìng le, suǒ yǐ wèi kǒu bù hǎo.
    He is sick, so his appetite is poor.
  • 胃口。
    Zhè zhǒng yīn yuè hěn duì wǒ de wèi kǒu.
    This kind of music really suits my taste.
  • 胃口，。
    Tā de wèi kǒu yì zhí hěn hǎo, cóng bù tiāo shí.
    Her appetite has always been good; she's never picky about food.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

胃wèistomach
口kǒumouth

胃 (stomach) and 口 (mouth) are parallel eating parts, together metaphorically naming appetite or liking.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

胃 originally drew a stomach with food inside, first as concentric circles and later with a grain-like mark in the middle.

Open 胃 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →
Appears in
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