嘴 meaning and stroke order
Mouth; beak; nozzle
How to write 嘴, stroke by stroke
16 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 嘴
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- mouth
- beak
- nozzle
- spout (of teapot etc)
How 嘴 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 觜 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 嘴
嘴 (zuǐ) puts the mouth radical 口 on the left beside 觜 (zī), which gives the sound. Picture a small mouth 口 sitting next to a bigger shape that looks like a beak, since 嘴 can mean both a mouth and a bird's beak.
In speech, 嘴 often appears as 嘴巴 (zuǐba), while 口 (kǒu) is more formal or used in set words. 嘴 also covers mouth-like openings such as a beak or the spout of a teapot. Example: 别插嘴。(Bié chāzuǐ.) Don't interrupt.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 角 alone and forget the 此 on top, since 觜 is 此 above 角. Also watch the tone: it is third tone zuǐ, not zuì like 最 (zuì, most).
Common words with 嘴
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 嘴巴 | zuǐba | mouth (CL:張|张[zhang1]); slap in the face | HSK 4 |
| 嘴唇 | zuǐchún | lip | HSK 7-9 |
| 插嘴 | chāzuǐ | to interrupt (sb talking); to butt in | HSK 7-9 |
| 七嘴八舌 | qīzuǐ-bāshé | lively discussion with everybody talking at once | HSK 7-9 |
| 吵嘴 | chǎozuǐ | to quarrel | HSK 7-9 |
| 咧嘴 | liězuǐ | to draw back the corners of one's mouth (as when smiling, grimacing, or snarling) | HSK 7-9 |
| 闭嘴 | bìzuǐ | Shut up!; same as 閉上嘴巴|闭上嘴巴 | |
| 嘴里 | zuǐlǐ | mouth; in the mouth | |
| 住嘴 | zhùzuǐ | to hold one's tongue; Shut up! | |
| 张嘴 | zhāngzuǐ | to open one's mouth (to speak, esp. to make a request); to gape | |
| 多嘴 | duōzuǐ | talkative; to speak out of turn | |
| 满嘴 | mǎnzuǐ | a full mouth of (sth physical); to have the mouth exclusively filled with (a certain langu | |
| 大嘴巴 | dàzuǐba | bigmouth; blabbermouth | |
| 顶嘴 | dǐngzuǐ | to talk back; to answer back |
嘴 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 嘴
How many strokes are in 嘴?
嘴 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 嘴 mean?
嘴 (zuǐ) means mouth; beak; nozzle. A common word with it is 嘴巴 (zuǐba), meaning "mouth (CL:張|张[zhang1]); slap in the face".
How do you pronounce 嘴?
嘴 is pronounced zuǐ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 嘴?
The radical of 嘴 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 嘴 under this radical.
Is 嘴 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 嘴 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 嘴 and 口?
Both mean mouth, but 嘴 is the everyday spoken word for the body part. 口 is more literary and shows up in compounds like 口语 (kǒuyǔ, spoken language) and as a measure word for family members.
How do you say someone talks too much or is sweet-talking using 嘴?
Chinese uses 嘴 in many expressions about speech. 嘴甜 (zuǐ tián) means someone says nice, flattering things, and 嘴硬 (zuǐ yìng) means someone refuses to admit they are wrong.