牙 yá tooth
ivory
How it came to be
象形 · Pictogram
A drawing of the thing it means.
The oldest form is a picture of teeth.
How it is used
- Everyday word for tooth: 刷牙 (shuā yá) brush teeth, 牙疼 (yá téng) toothache.
- 牙齿 (yáchǐ) is the disyllabic noun for 'teeth'; bare 牙 dominates in verb collocations (刷牙, 拔牙 bá yá pull a tooth) and product names (牙膏 yágāo toothpaste, 牙刷 yáshuā toothbrush).
- 蛀牙 (zhùyá) = a cavity / decayed tooth, the thing the dentist fills.
Characters built with 牙
Words with 牙
Example sentences
- 我每天都刷牙。 Wǒ měi tiān dōu shuāyá.I brush my teeth every day.
- 我在挤牙膏准备刷牙。 Wǒ zài jǐ yágāo zhǔnbèi shuāyá.I am squeezing toothpaste in preparation to brush my teeth.