食欲 (shí yù) — appetite | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Physical appetite — the urge to eat, which can rise, fall, or be lost. 与胃口 are near-synonyms, but 胃口 also extends figuratively to mean 'taste or interest in something', while 食欲 stays concrete.

noun

appetite

Examples

食欲，。
Zuì jìn wǒ de shí yù bú tài hǎo, kě néng bìng le.
My appetite hasn't been great lately; I might be sick.
食欲。
Yùn dòng néng zēng jiā shí yù.
Exercise can increase your appetite.
，食欲。
Kàn dào zhè xiē cài, wǒ de shí yù jiù lái le.
Seeing these dishes, my appetite comes right away.

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.

欲yùdesire

The sense of 食 as eating and 欲 as desire combine to mean appetite.

Characters in this word

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

亼亼jímouth
皀皀jía bowl of rice on a stand

The form behind 食 shows 亼, a mouth, together with 皀, a bowl of rice on a stand. In modern 食, the bowl part has changed shape.

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

谷欠欲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

谷

谷gǔ欲yù

Same sound today

欲 is made of 谷, which supplies the sound, and 欠, which relates to the meaning.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6

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