投其所好

tóuqí-suǒhào
idiom #83,184

Meanings

  1. 1 to cater to someone's preferences
  2. 2 to play to someone's tastes
  3. 3 to ingratiate oneself by giving what someone likes

Examples

Tā zhīdào lǎobǎn ài hēchá, biàn tóuqí-suǒhào sòng le yì hé hǎo chá.
Knowing the boss loves tea, he played to his taste with a box of fine tea.
Guǎnggào shèjì jiùshì yào tóuqí-suǒhào, liǎojiě mùbiāo kèhù de xìngqù.
Ad design is all about catering to your audience - knowing what they like.
Tā pīpíng xiàshǔ zhǐ huì tóuqí-suǒhào, bù gǎn tíchū yìjiàn.
He criticized his staff for only ever playing to his preferences, never daring to disagree.

Tips

history
Echoes the 庄子 (Gengsang Chu): unless you can catch someone with what they love, you can't catch them at all. The idiom captures Zhuangzi's cynical insight about how influence really works.
register
Often negative - implies sycophancy, manipulation, or pandering. But in marketing or diplomacy contexts it can be neutral, simply 'tailoring the offer to the audience'.

Stroke Order

tóu
suǒ
hǎo