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味道 meaning in English

wèidào

flavor; taste; (fig.) feeling (of ...); sense (of ...); hint (of ...)

HSK 2noun20 strokes

Meaning of 味道

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

wèidao
  1. flavor; taste
  2. (fig.) feeling (of ...); sense (of ...); hint (of ...)
  3. (fig.) interest; delight
  4. (dialect) smell; odor

How to use 味道

味道 is the everyday word for how food tastes, and it also describes the feel or flavor of something abstract, like a place or a story. Example: 这个菜味道很好。(Zhège cài wèidào hěn hǎo.) This dish tastes great.

味 (wèi) has a mouth 口 on the left, so it is about taste. 道 (dào) means a way or path, so think of 味道 as the path a flavor takes across your tongue.

Common mistake: Learners often say 味道很好吃, but 好吃 already means tasty, so just say 味道很好 or 很好吃. Also note the dictionary gives wèidao, so 道 is often said in a light neutral tone, not a full fourth tone.

味道 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

萨sà米mǐ的de床chuáng有yǒu床chuáng的de味wèi道dào。
Sami's bed smells of bed.
我wǒ感gǎn冒mào了le，所suǒ以yǐ吃chī不bù出chū味wèi道dào来lái。
I'm sick, so I can't taste anything.
这zhè水shuǐ的de味wèi道dào很hěn难nán闻wén
This water has an ugly smell.
食shí物wù的de味wèi道dào让ràng我wǒ饿è了le。
The smell of food made me hungry.
谁shuí会huì想xiǎng吃chī那nà种zhǒng味wèi道dào的de东dōng西xī？
Why would anyone want to eat something that smelled like that?

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

味 wèi · taste · 8 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8

道 dào · road · 12 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12

Related words

Words that share a character with 味道.

知道zhīdàoto know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5]
道理dàolǐreason; argument
道路dàolùroad; path
难道nándàodon't tell me ...; could it be that...?
报道bàodàoto report (news); report
街道jiēdàostreet; subdistrict
味儿wèirtaste
意味着yìwèizheto signify; to mean
道德dàodévirtue; morality
频道píndàofrequency; (television) channel
道歉dàoqiànto apologize
一道yīdàotogether

Questions about 味道

What does 味道 mean?

味道 (wèidào) means "flavor; taste; (fig.) feeling (of ...); sense (of ...); hint (of ...)" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 味道?

味道 is made of 2 characters: 味 (8 strokes), 道 (12 strokes). That is 20 strokes in total.

Is 味道 an HSK word?

Yes. 味道 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

Can 味道 mean smell in Chinese?

In some dialects and in casual speech, yes. For example, 有什么味道? can mean 'What is that smell?' In standard writing, 气味 (qìwèi) is the more precise word for odor.

How do I use 味道 for a feeling or atmosphere?

Use it with 有 and a description, such as 有点儿家的味道 (yǒudiǎnr jiā de wèidào), 'it feels a bit like home.' It suggests a hint or sense of something.

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