味

• Sensory: Taste, flavor, smell, or odor. In early texts, the glyph often denotes the perceived quality of a substance regardless of whether it is tasted or smelled.
• Concrete: A delicacy or specific food item characterized by seasoning or rarity.
• Abstract/Intellectual: The essence, nuance, or subtle meaning of a thing, such as the "flavor" of a philosophical argument or piece of writing.

• Noun: Used to describe a quality (e.g., a bitter taste) or a physical object (a delicacy).
• Verb: To sample, taste, or smell; metaphorically, to ponder, relish, savor, or appreciate a subtle meaning.

[DISTINITIONS]

• Contrast with 氣 (qì): When referring to smells, 氣 typically denotes the medium—the breath, vapor, or air—whereas 味 denotes the specific character or quality of that scent.

• Semantic Shift: In literary or philosophical contexts, be alert to the shift from culinary "flavor" to intellectual "meaning/significance" (a precursor to the compound 意味 yìwèi). If the surrounding context is emotive or intellectual rather than physical, 味 likely refers to nuance or essence.