重口味 in English?

[tooironic]

My Chinese friends are dying to know how to translate 重口味 into English.

 

"Heavy taste" sounds bizarre to me. Obviously "unusual taste" is fine, but I was hoping there might be a more idiomatic equivalent in English.

 

I thought of "acquired taste", but I think that's different in that it usually refers to a thing rather than a person. E.g. Fried scorpions are an acquired taste.

 

So, any ideas?

[fanglu]

Strong flavour?

[Pingfa]

Found this post while searching:

"这个要视具体语境而定。 

 

一般情况下，我理解的「重口味」多指那种超出一般人心理承受范围的事物或审美，通常会引起观者心理上的不适，这种用法大抵就是「sick (taste)」之类。"

 

There seems to be no exact English equivalent, so it largely depends on context. If it is 黄 related,  hardcore or sick will do.

If you're using it to describe a weird movie or book, you could use 'is not for the faint of heart' For example: 这个电影口味很重=This movie is not for the faint of heart.

I suppose you could also say someone has 'unique taste' or just 'weird taste' in something. 'I have a weird taste in movies'

[mouse]

I guess there isn't a direct equivalent in English, but I always think of it as meaning something similar to "a bit much" or "a bit too far". Also I define it negatively by thinking of it as the opposite of 小清新.