The Chinese compound word 开胃 (kāiwèi), meaning "appetizing" or "to stimulate one's appetite", is formed through a logical verb-object construction. The first character 开 (kāi) means "to open" or "to stimulate", while the second character 胃 (wèi) means "stomach". Combined, they create a vivid metaphorical phrase, literally "to open the stomach", which succinctly conveys the concept of something that arouses or prepares the digestive system for eating, commonly used to describe certain foods, dishes, or even small appetizers.