咬 meaning and stroke order
To bite; to nip
How to write 咬, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 咬
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to bite
- to nip
- variant of 咬[yao3]
How 咬 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 交 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 咬
咬 combines 口 (mouth), the meaning part, with 交 (jiāo), the sound part. Picture teeth in the mouth 口 meeting and crossing like the 交 in 交叉 (jiāochā, to cross) as they bite down.
咬 is a common everyday verb for biting with teeth, used for people, animals, and insects. It often appears with 被 to say something bit you. Example: 我被蚊子咬了。(Wǒ bèi wénzi yǎo le.) I got bitten by a mosquito.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 校 (xiào, school) or 较 (jiào, compare) instead of 咬, because all three use 交. Remember that biting needs a mouth, so only 咬 has 口 on the left.
Common words with 咬
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 咬伤 | yǎoshāng | bite (e.g. snake bite, mosquito bite) | |
| 咬牙 | yǎoyá | to clench one's teeth; to grind the teeth | |
| 咬痕 | yǎohén | bite scar |
咬 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 咬
How many strokes are in 咬?
咬 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 咬 mean?
咬 (yǎo) means to bite; to nip. A common word with it is 咬伤 (yǎoshāng), meaning "bite (e.g. snake bite, mosquito bite)".
How do you pronounce 咬?
咬 is pronounced yǎo, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 咬?
The radical of 咬 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 咬 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 咬?
The traditional form of 咬 is 齩. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 咬 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 咬 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 咬 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What does 咬牙 mean when it is not literal?
咬牙 (yǎoyá) literally means to clench your teeth, but it often describes enduring something hard or forcing yourself through it. For example, 他咬牙坚持下来了 (Tā yǎoyá jiānchí xiàlái le) means he gritted his teeth and kept going.
How is 咬 different from 嚼 (jiáo)?
咬 is the act of biting into or biting down on something once. 嚼 means to chew, the repeated grinding of food after it is in your mouth. You 咬 an apple first, then you 嚼 it.