How to say "tastes/smells like"

dixch
March 09, 2013, 04:29 AM posted in Grammar Questions

Is there a direct translation for "this smells like that?". The best I can find in the dictionary is "味同嚼蜡“ (tastes as if one is chewing wax, meaning tasteless). Can I use this pattern for everything? Can you use it for metaphors?

e.g.

This plum tastes like my childhood

这个李子有童年的味道。 Or 这个李子味同我的同年。

This cake tastes like vanilla

 这个蛋糕味同香草

Your room smells like socks

你房间有脏袜子的臭

How about “the smell of..."

e.g. Our living room is filled with the smell of wet washing

我们客厅被湿衣服的味道满

 

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verazhang100
March 11, 2013, 06:57 AM

The best structure will be "吃起来像……chī qǐ lái xiàng ” or "闻起来像……wén qǐ lái xiàng "。

This cake tastes like vanilla这个蛋糕吃起来像香草。

Your room smells like socks你的房间闻起来像臭袜子。

The smell of ... is ...的味道。

湿衣服的味道。

BTW, what's 湿衣服的味道?

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dixch
March 13, 2013, 11:56 AM

Awesome! Thanks for that.

我的湿衣服经常闻起来像洗涤剂。