嘴 zuǐ mouth
How to remember 嘴: 口 mouth + 觜 beak = mouth. The girl opens her mouth wide in shock when the parrot's beak snatches the cookie right out of her mouth.
Component breakdown
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
嘴 = 口 mouth + 觜 beak
- 口 mouth meaning
- 觜 beak sound
The girl opens her mouth wide in shock when the parrot's beak snatches the cookie right out of her mouth.
How it came to be
The mouth gives the meaning and the beak gives the sound.
How it is used
- The everyday word for mouth, usually as 嘴巴 (zuǐba): more colloquial than the formal/anatomical 口 (kǒu).
- Appears in gesture/speech idioms: 插嘴 (chāzuǐ) to butt into a conversation, 咧嘴 (liězuǐ) to grin.
- 七嘴八舌 (qīzuǐ-bāshé) describes a crowd all talking at once, everyone chiming in.
- For the physical opening use 嘴; for the abstract 'opening of a container' or classifier sense (人口 population, 三口人), use 口.
Words with 嘴
Example sentences
- 请张开嘴。 Qǐng zhāngkāi zuǐ.Please open your mouth.
- 他的嘴上和脸上都沾满了巧克力。 Tā de zuǐshàng hé liǎnshàng dōu zhānmǎn le qiǎokèlì.His lips and face are covered with chocolate.