耐人寻味
nài rén xún wèi · HSK 7
thought-provoking
🍵 耐 endure + 人 person + 寻 seek + 味 flavor = endures a person seeking its flavor
Literally a thing that withstands repeated tasting: the more you seek its 味 (flavor), the more there is. A book or remark that stays flavorful no matter how often you chew it over — food for thought.
耐 — 而 (beard) + 寸 (hand/rule)
Originally depicted shaving off a beard (而) by hand (寸) as a minor punishment in ancient China. The sense shifted from 'enduring this shame' to the broader meaning 'to endure, bear, withstand.' Today 耐 commonly means patient or resistant, as in 耐心 (patience).
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.
寻 — hand 彐 (top) + inch 寸 (bottom), simplified from 尋
Originally a compound showing two hands measuring a length, with 工 and 口 between them, indicating the act of measuring with outstretched arms. The traditional form 尋 referred to a unit of length (about eight chi). The meaning extended from 'measure' to 'search for' or 'seek out'.