口感 (kǒu gǎn) — mouthfeel; texture (of food) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

口感 is the physical texture/mouthfeel of food (crunchy, soft, smooth). 口味 is about taste/flavor, and 质地 is more formal for material texture, not eating.

noun

mouthfeeltexture (of food)

Examples

口感。
Zhè zhǒng shuǐ guǒ de kǒu gǎn hěn xīn xiān.
This fruit has a very fresh mouthfeel.
口感。
Wǒ xǐ huan kǒu gǎn ruǎn ruǎn de bīng qí lín.
I like ice cream with a soft texture.
口感。
Zhè zhǒng qiǎo kè lì de kǒu gǎn fēi cháng xì nì.
This chocolate has a very smooth and delicate texture.

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.

感gǎnfeeling

口 points to the mouth, and 感 to feeling, so the word names the feel of food in the mouth.

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.

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

咸心感

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

咸

咸xián感gǎn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

感 pairs 咸, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart, for feeling.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Food (General)

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