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口味 (kǒu wèi) — (noun) flavor, taste (of food); (noun) a person's taste, preference (in food, art, etc.)

Definition

口味 covers both the flavor of food and a person's preference (in food, art, etc.). 味道 is just the taste of something; 品味 leans toward cultivated aesthetic judgment.

noun
flavortaste (of food)a person's tastepreference (in food, art, etc.)

Examples

  • 口味。
    Zhè ge pái zi de dàn gāo yǒu hěn duō zhǒng kǒu wèi.
    This brand of cake has many flavors.
  • 口味，，。
    Měi gè rén de kǒu wèi dōu bù yí yàng, yǒu rén xǐ huan tián de, yǒu rén xǐ huan là de.
    Everyone's taste is different; some like sweet, some like spicy.
  • 口味。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō bù hé wǒ de kǒu wèi.
    This novel doesn't suit my taste.

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.

口kǒumouth
味wèitaste

口 points to the mouth, and 味 to taste, giving flavor or a person's taste.

Characters in this word

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 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Flavors & Seasonings5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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