津jīn津jīn有yǒu味wèi

Literal: juicy, juicy, full of flavor
Figurative: With great relish and enjoyment; doing something (eating, reading, listening) with keen, absorbed pleasure.

Where does 津津有味 come from?

It does not come from a particular tale; it is a set phrase that doubles 津 (“juice, saliva”) to intensify the sense of something mouth-watering, capped by 有味 (“having flavor”). It appears often in Ming and Qing prose, and today it mostly describes the absorbed pleasure with which one eats, reads, or listens to something.

How is 津津有味 used? Two examples

孩hái子zi们men津jīn津jīn有yǒu味wèi地de听tīng着zhe奶nǎi奶nai讲jiǎng的de老lǎo故gù事shi。
The children listened with great relish to the old stories Grandma told.
这zhè本běn小xiǎo说shuō太tài好hǎo看kàn了le，我wǒ一yī个gè下xià午wǔ就jiù津jīn津jīn有yǒu味wèi地de读dú完wán了le。
This novel is so good that I read it through with great relish in a single afternoon.

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