腥味 (xīng wèi) — fishy smell; rank odor | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

fishy smellrank odor

Examples

腥味，。
Zhè tiáo yú yǒu xīng wèi, bú tài xīn xiān le.
This fish has a fishy smell; it's not very fresh.
腥味。
Chú fáng lǐ de xīng wèi hěn nán wén.
The rank odor in the kitchen is very unpleasant.
腥味。
Tā shòu bù liǎo hǎi xiān de xīng wèi.
He can't stand the fishy smell of seafood.

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.

腥味 joins 腥 and 味 for the rank smell of fish or meat.

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

肉肉ròumeat; flesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

星

星xīng腥xīng

Same sound today

腥 combines 肉 (meat; flesh) with 星, which supplies its sound.

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

口未味

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.

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