齿 meaning and stroke order
Teeth; gears, cogs; age
How to write 齿, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
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- 8
Meaning of 齿
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) tooth
- (bound form) to regard as worthy of mention
How 齿 is built
Pictographic character. Teeth 人凵; 止 provides the pronunciation.
How to remember 齿
Picture a mouth 凵 holding a tooth 人 inside it, with 止 (zhǐ) sitting on top as a sound hint. The open box with a pointy shape inside looks like a jaw showing a tooth.
齿 (chǐ) is a bound form, so it usually appears inside words like 牙齿 (yáchǐ, tooth) and 齿轮 (chǐlún, gear) rather than alone. In everyday speech people say 牙 (yá) or 牙齿 for teeth. Example: 我每天刷两次牙齿。(Wǒ měitiān shuā liǎng cì yáchǐ.) I brush my teeth twice a day.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom part as a closed box 口, but 凵 is open at the top with 人 inside. Also, do not confuse 齿 (chǐ) with 止 (zhǐ). They share the top part but differ in sound and meaning.
Common words with 齿
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
齿 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 齿
Learning 齿 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 齿
How many strokes are in 齿?
齿 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 齿 mean?
齿 (chǐ) means teeth; gears, cogs; age. A common word with it is 牙齿 (yáchǐ), meaning "tooth; dental".
How do you pronounce 齿?
齿 is pronounced chǐ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the traditional form of 齿?
The traditional form of 齿 is 齒. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 齿 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 齿 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 齿 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 牙 (yá) and 齿 (chǐ)?
Both mean tooth, but 牙 is the everyday word and can stand alone, while 齿 is more formal and mostly appears in compounds. The combination 牙齿 is the most common neutral word for teeth.
What does 难以启齿 (nányǐqǐchǐ) mean literally?
Literally it means hard to open one's teeth, that is, hard to open one's mouth to speak. It is used when something is too embarrassing or awkward to say, as in 这件事让我难以启齿 (zhè jiàn shì ràng wǒ nányǐqǐchǐ), this matter is hard for me to bring up.