酸味 (suān wèi) — tart flavor; acidity

Definition

A specific sour / tart taste (e.g. in wine, vinegar, unripe fruit), as opposed to the general taste category 酸 which is taught earlier. Often used when describing flavor intensity, like 酸味重 'high acidity'.

noun
tart flavoracidity

Examples

  • 酸味。
    Zhè ge píng guǒ yǒu hěn hǎo de suān wèi.
    This apple has a nice tart flavor.
  • 酸味。
    Zhè kuǎn hóng jiǔ de suān wèi bǐ jiào zhòng.
    This red wine has a relatively strong acidity.
  • 酸味。
    Wǒ xǐ huan jiā yì xiē cù lái zēng jiā suān wèi.
    I like to add some vinegar to increase the tartness.

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.

酸suānsour
味wèitaste

酸 means sour and 味 means taste, so the word is a sour taste.

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
酉酉yǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
夋
夋qūn酸suān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酸 is built from 酉 and 夋, and 夋 gives the sound.

Open 酸 →

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 →

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