闻起来

The word '闻' (wén) means 'to smell' or 'to hear'. It is an ancient character, appearing in oracle bone inscriptions. Its original form depicts an ear at a gate, suggesting the act of listening or perceiving with the senses. Over time, its meaning extended to include the sense of smell. '起来' (qǐlái) is a verbal complement indicating an upward movement or the beginning of an action, and in this context, it functions to describe the emanation or perception of a smell. So, '闻起来' literally translates to 'smell rising' or 'to begin to smell', effectively conveying the idea of something giving off an olfactory impression. The combination of '闻' and '起来' forms a common and idiomatic way to describe how something smells in Chinese.