对味 (duì wèi) — (of food) to suit one's taste, to be to one's liking; (of people or things) to match, to be compatible; to feel right or appropriate

Definition

Adjective meaning 'suits one's taste' (literal: food) or, figuratively, 'matches well / feels right' (people, words, behavior). Uses the verb 对 (match/right) — distinct from 合适 which fits situations rather than personal taste.

adjective
(of food) to suit one's tasteto be to one's liking(of people or things) to matchto be compatibleto feel right or appropriate

Examples

  • ，对味。
    Zhè dào cài wèi dào hěn bú cuò, hěn duì wèi.
    This dish tastes great — it really suits my palate.
  • 对味，。
    Wǒ men liǎ hěn duì wèi, yì liáo tiān jiù tíng bú xià lái.
    We two really click; once we start chatting we can't stop.
  • 对味，。
    Tā gāng cái shuō de nà xiē huà bú tài duì wèi, gǎn jué yǒu diǎn qí guài.
    What he just said didn't sound right — it felt a bit strange.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

对duìmatch
味wèitaste

对 (match) and 味 (taste) together mean something suits one's taste.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 對; 对 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 對, the shape comes from an early drawing of 丵 (a digging tool), 土 (earth), and 又 (a hand); it may have meant developing land.

Open 对 →

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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