入味 (rù wèi) — flavorful, well-seasoned (of food); interesting, engrossing (of an activity or experience)

Definition

Used for food that has absorbed flavor well (e.g., a stewed or braised dish). For the second sense, it figuratively means an activity gets more and more absorbing the longer you do it.

adjective
flavorfulwell-seasoned (of food)interestingengrossing (of an activity or experience)

Examples

  • ，入味。
    Zhè ge cài dùn le hěn cháng shí jiān, hěn rù wèi.
    This dish has been stewed for a long time — it's very flavorful.
  • 入味，。
    Yóu xì yuè wán yuè rù wèi, wǒ dōu bù xiǎng tíng xià lái.
    The game gets more and more engrossing — I don't want to stop playing.
  • 入味。
    Nà dào tāng jiā le xiāng liào hòu tè bié rù wèi.
    That soup became especially flavorful after adding the spices.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

入rùenter
味wèiflavor

入 enter and 味 flavor; together suggest flavor soaking in, hence well-seasoned.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

入 is drawn as an arrowhead, indicating 'to enter'.

Open 入 →

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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