趣味 (qù wèi) — interest; fun; delight (the quality of being enjoyable or engaging); taste; liking; preference (a personal inclination or aesthetic sense)

Definition

Names the enjoyable 'flavor' or charm of a thing itself (a book, film, activity). 兴趣 is the personal 'interest' you feel toward it; 乐趣 is the pleasure you get from doing it.

noun
interestfundelight (the quality of being enjoyable or engaging)tastelikingpreference (a personal inclination or aesthetic sense)

Examples

  • 趣味。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng de qù wèi zài yú tā dú tè de xù shì fāng shì.
    The interest of this film lies in its unique narrative style.
  • 趣味，。
    Liǎng gè rén qù wèi xiāng tóu, hěn kuài jiù chéng le hǎo péng you.
    The two hit it off in tastes and soon became good friends.
  • ，。
    Zhè běn shū bù jǐn zhī shi fēng fù, ér qiě hěn yǒu qù wèi.
    This book is not only rich in knowledge but also very interesting.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

趣qùinterest
味wèitaste

趣味 joins 趣 interest and 味 taste to name the enjoyable quality of something.

Characters in this word

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
走走zǒuwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
取
取qǔ趣qù
Same sound today

趣 has 走, showing walking or hurrying, and 取, which gives the sound; the shape points to moving toward something.

Open 趣 →

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 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Hobbies & Pastimes

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