Taxonomy of meanings for 嘗:　　

  • 嘗 cháng (OC: djaŋ MC: dʑiɐŋ) 市羊切 平 廣韻：【同甞 】
    • SAVOUR
      • vtoNtaste
      • vtt(oN1.)+N2cause (someone N2) to try the taste of (something N1)
      • vt(oN)taste the contextually determinate object
      • nabacttasting
      • viactto taste
      • vtoNimperativetaste!
      • general> EAT
        • vtoNTASTE> have as food, have to eat, take as food
        • vtoNmedicaltake as medicine
        • vtoNpassivebe tastedCH
        • ritually give to eat> SACRIFICE TO HEAVEN AND EARTH
          • viactperform the autumn sacrifice
          • nabactautumn sacrifice
        • general> try out by eating> TEST
          • vtoNtest, feel out, probe
          • genral> TRY
            • vt(+V[0])try to do the contextually determinate thing
            • vtoNmake an attempt at, give a try
            • vt+V[0]try to V
            • grammaticalised> IMPERATIVE MARKER
              • vt V[0]Let us V!; Let me V! Why don't you...CH
      • figurative> ENCOUNTER
        • vtoNTASTE> to experience, to go through
        • negative> SUFFER
          • vtoNgo through, experience (a suffering)
        • what has been encountered> PAST
          • vadVat one point, some time ago; once in the past, on one occasion; in the past; 

    Additional information about 嘗

    說文解字: 【嘗】，口味之也。从旨、尚聲。 【市羊切】

      Criteria
    • FLAVOUR

      1. The current noun for taste is wèi 味. (The current verb for tasting something is cháng 嘗. See also TASTE).

      2. Chòu 臭 is the flavour of something as primarily perceived through the nose. For this see SMELL

    • ENCOUNTER

      1. The current general word for having once encountered, actively tried or experienced something is cháng 嘗 and this word often feels more like an adverbial particle than a verb of experience.

      2. Yù 遇 refers to having been exposed to something (often something positive) by coincidence.

      3. Féng 逢 seems to be a dialect word synonymous with yù 遇, a word which it came to replace at later stages of the language as the standard word.

      4. Zāo 遭 refers to running into something (often something negative).

      5. Fàn 犯 refers to a deliberate encounter and to the facing up to what is encountered with energy and vigour.

      6. Lín 臨 refers to facing something with calm dignity and self-control.

    • SMELL

      1. Xiù 臭／嗅 "try to smell" relates to wén 聞 "perceive the smell of" exactly like shì 視 "look at" to jiàn 見 "see".

      NB: Compare 嘗 "try to taste". See TASTE.

    • PAST

      1. The most general current word for "formerly" referring to any time in the distant or recent past is probably xī 昔 (ant. jīn 今 "present").

      2. Wǎng 往 (ant. lái 來 "future") is a general technical term for the past.

      3. Céng 曾 marks an event as belonging to the past, and the word is highly grammaticalised. 待考

      4. Cháng 嘗 places an action or experience in the past, typically in so far as this past is experienced or witnessed by someone, remarkably often by the speaker himself.

      5. Gǔ 古 and gǔ zhě 古者 refer specifically to ancient times and not just generally to the past.

      6. Xiàng 鄉 / 曏 / 嚮 refers to the relatively recent past.

      7. Nǎng 曩 refers to the somewhat more distant past.

      8. Qǐng 頃 refer to the period a short time ago.

      9. Gù 故 tends to be used adjectivally to characterise something as being former rather than present, and the meaning is very neatly distinct from gǔ 古 which would characterise something as being old.\

      NB: Zuó 昨 refers specifically to something happening a day ago. See YESTERDAY.

    • TRY

      1. The current general word for trying is shì 試, but the word generally refers to brief attempts rather than a concerted lasting campaign.

      2. Cháng 嘗 "make an attempt at" typically takes nominal objects, and the attempt referred to is typically of a transient kind.

      3. Qiú 求 refers to a sustained attempt to achieve a result.

      NB: There are apparently no nominal uses of any of these words. It will be interesting to find a case of a nominalised "attempt".

    • SAVOUR

      1. The current word for tasting something, trying to determine its flavour, is cháng 嘗. I have not found any near-synonyms so far.

    • EAT

      1. The general word is shí 食 which refers to any form of taking in food, but the word is probably primarily a noun meaning "food". Cf. 飯疏食 "dine on coarse food".

      2. Gān 甘 is to enjoy a meal or to enjoy food on a given occasion.

      3. Rú 茹 is to eat a routine meal in order to still one's hunger.

      4. Fú 服 ingest or imbibe for a purpose, typical a medical purpose.

      5. Dàn 啖 is to eat quickly oneself and dàn 啗 is to cause someone to swallow.

      6. Fàn 飯 is to dine on some basic foodstuff, and the word is secondarily a noun meaning "foodstuff, staple food".

      7. Cháng 嘗 is to eat something for the purpose of experiencing the taste of it, rather than for the purpose of filling one's stomach.

      8. Bǎo 飽 refers specifically to eating enough or having eaten enough and is most current as an intransitive verb.

      9. Yàn 厭 / 饜 refers to eating more than enough is mostly used transitively.

      10. Cān 餐 is a formal or poetic word referring to the eating of a desirable meal.

      Word relations
    • Epithet: (PAST)未/NOT
    • Assoc: (TEST)試/TEST
    • Relat: (SAVOUR)食/FOOD The general term for food is shí 食 and this includes food as well as drink and can refer generally to one's livelihood, also to staple foods as opposed to delicacies involving meat, such as kuài 膾 "minced meat, raw".