听出

22:36 Aug 19, 2022
Chinese to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
Chinese term or phrase: 听出
Can it be used in relation to smell or flavor? I can't put the whole sentence, but I stumbled upon it in a phone call dialogue description where it was used along with 陋的味道
Sami Gaerli
Russian Federation
Local time: 15:32


Summary of answers provided
5 +1figurative usage of 味道
Chuan Xiao
5pick up
Sherlyn Chen
4sense (as a verb)
Yawen Xing
4闻到 or 闻出 (for smell) / 尝到 or 吃出 (for flavor)
Kiet Bach
3hear a smack of roughness (简陋) / unsavoriness (丑陋)
Yuemin Chen


  

Answers


5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
sense (as a verb)


Explanation:
“听出” cannot be used to describe smell or flavor.

If you need to describe those elements, you could use the verbs “闻” (to smell) or “尝” (to taste) to replace “听” (to hear, to listen), as the answer of @Kiet Bach suggests.

In addition, if you are translating a literary work (an online novel I guess? according to your description), you could use a wider verb "sense" in this context. I think the author may want to write about the fact that, the protagonist "senses" something shabby or makeshift through the speech on the phone. But anyway, the collocation “听出...的味道” is questionable and will be considered an error in more formal texts.

Yawen Xing
China
Local time: 20:32
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Chinese
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22 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
听出...的味道
figurative usage of 味道


Explanation:
“听出....味道”是完全可以的,因为这里的味道不是指用味觉去感知的味道,像酸、甜、苦、辣,而是指“意味”,“含义”,“风格”等等。是味道的figurative 用法。

例如“从她的话里我听出了讥讽的味道”。
以下是几个网站搜到的:
听着熟悉的歌却听出了陌生的味道
-百度
《醉乡民谣》主题曲《500 Miles》, 听出人生的味道!
-搜狐

一首欢快纯音乐《夜、萤火虫和你》,意境唯美,听出夏天的味道
-Bilibili




Chuan Xiao
Canada
Local time: 05:32
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you! That fits perfectly!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  jyuan_us
25 days
  -> 谢谢!
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
hear a smack of roughness (简陋) / unsavoriness (丑陋)


Explanation:
味道 can refer to the indication of something. For example, 他的话带有讽刺的味道. His words have a smack of sarcasm.

For your reference only.


Yuemin Chen
China
Local time: 20:32
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
PRO pts in category: 4
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46 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
闻到 or 闻出 (for smell) / 尝到 or 吃出 (for flavor)


Explanation:
No, you should not use for 听出 for smell or flavor.

Do you smell something bad?
你闻到臭味吗?

Are you able to taste the strawberry in the cake?
你尝到蛋糕里草莓的味道吗?
你吃出蛋糕里草莓的味道吗?

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Note added at 4 hrs (2022-08-20 02:54:39 GMT)
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Correction (extra "for"):
No, you should not use 听出 for smell or flavor.


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Note added at 1 day 15 mins (2022-08-20 22:51:32 GMT)
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Some have suggested that it could have been a figurative use of “味道”。 I agree that it is a possibility. If so, “味道” just means "feeling". For example:

我从这首歌里听出悲伤的味道。
I can feel a sense of sadness listening to this song.
(Literally: From this song I can hear the taste of sadness)



Kiet Bach
United States
Local time: 05:32
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
PRO pts in category: 21
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you! I think I understand it now

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347 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
pick up


Explanation:
"听出" normally goes with a quality/feel discerned from a sound, and "味道" is used figuratively here to refer to that quality or feel.

It means the listener picks up a note of something.

Sherlyn Chen
New Zealand
Local time: 00:32
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese, Native in EnglishEnglish
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