嗜好

• Pinyin: shì hào
• Hanzi breakdown: 嗜 = 口 + 耆 (to crave — a mouth with an elder's deeply ingrained appetite; the 耆 component suggests something habitual and long-established); 好 = 女 + 子 (fond, to like)

Meaning

Hobby; personal fondness or taste; addiction or strong craving. A deep-seated habit, pastime, or appetite that one indulges with pleasure or compulsion.

Occupies a spectrum from harmless personal passion to problematic addiction, depending on context. At one end: cultivated personal pastimes (音乐嗜好 — a passion for music; 收藏嗜好 — a collecting hobby). At the other: unhealthy cravings (赌博嗜好 — a gambling habit; 饮酒嗜好 — a drinking addiction). The word carries a slightly stronger and more personal flavour than 爱好 (hobby — more neutral and general) and 兴趣 (interest — more casual). Key collocations: 个人嗜好 (personal indulgence), 不良嗜好 (bad habit/vice), 难以戒断的嗜好 (a hard-to-quit addiction).

Examples

1. 他的个人嗜好颇为广泛，涵盖古典音乐欣赏、野外天文观测和传统家具修复，这些爱好使他的退休生活充实而有意义。 His personal interests are quite broad, covering classical music appreciation, outdoor stargazing, and restoration of traditional furniture—hobbies that make his retirement fulfilling and meaningful.
2. 长期大量饮酒已从最初的社交习惯演变为一种难以自控的嗜好，对他的肝功能和家庭关系造成了严重的双重损害。 Long-term heavy drinking has evolved from a social habit into an addiction he can’t control, causing serious damage both to his liver function and to his family relationships.
3. 心理学研究表明，对社交媒体的过度依赖与赌博等传统成瘾性嗜好在大脑奖励回路的激活机制上存在高度相似性。 Psychological research shows that excessive dependence on social media is highly similar to traditional addictive habits like gambling in how it activates the brain’s reward circuits.

Usage Guide

Context: personal life, psychology, health, addiction, social commentary

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 戒掉一种根深蒂固的嗜好，从来不只靠意志力，还要靠专业干预、家庭支持和环境改变。(Giving up a deeply rooted bad habit never depends on willpower alone; it also requires professional intervention, family support, and changes to the environment.)
• 写求职材料时，若在简介里提到嗜好，应选与岗位要求相符的内容，不必罗列无关癖好。(When writing job application materials, if you mention hobbies in your profile, choose ones that fit the job requirements and do not list unrelated personal quirks.)

Don't Say

• 嗜好 as a direct synonym for 爱好 (hobby) in formal self-introduction or CV contexts — 嗜好 carries a stronger personal-craving or even slightly obsessive connotation and may sound odd in a professional context; use 兴趣爱好 (hobbies and interests) or simply 爱好 (hobby) for neutral, professional self-description

Origin & History

嗜 (to crave, to be addicted to — 口 mouth + 耆 elder, suggesting an ingrained, deep-seated appetite) + 好 (to like, fondness — 女 woman + 子 child)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal