📖 Meaning
Each person has their own preferences and tastes. The idiom suggests that people's likes and dislikes arise from their inherent nature and should be allowed to follow their natural course without forcing conformity.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase originates from the Tang dynasty poet Xiao Yingshi's work 'Five Poems in Reply to Vice Minister Wei's Visit' (《仰答韦司业垂访五首》). In one poem he reflects on the path to the cloudy cliffs, lamenting he has no means to reach it, then concludes that all things have their own inclinations and to go against them would harm what is natural. The line '物各有所好，违之伤自然' became the source of this idiom, expressing the Daoist idea that every being has innate preferences that should be respected.
💡 Example Usage
读书各有所好，有人喜欢历史，有人偏爱文学。
Everyone has their own taste in reading; some prefer history, while others favor literature.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 各有所好
- Pinyin: gè yǒu suǒ hào
- Literal Translation: each, has, what, one likes
- Category: Variety
- Characters: 4