口 meaning in English
mouth; classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc)
Meaning of 口
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- mouth
- classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc)
- classifier for bites or mouthfuls
How to use 口
口 means mouth, and it also appears in words for openings such as 门口 (ménkǒu, doorway), 路口 (lùkǒu, intersection), 出口 (chūkǒu, exit) and 入口 (rùkǒu, entrance). As a measure word it counts family members, wells, and bites or mouthfuls. Example: 我家有三口人。(Wǒ jiā yǒu sān kǒu rén.) There are three people in my family.
口 (kǒu) looks like an open mouth seen from the front, a simple square opening. Think of any opening, like a door or an exit, as a kind of mouth.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 口 (kǒu) with the larger enclosure 囗 (wéi) found in characters like 国 (guó) and 四 (sì). Also, do not use 口 as a general measure word for people outside the family context, since 三个人 (sān gè rén) is the normal way to say three people.
口 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
口 kǒu · mouth · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 口.
| 门口 | ménkǒu | doorway; gate |
| 路口 | lùkǒu | crossing; intersection (of roads) |
| 出口 | chūkǒu | an exit; to speak |
| 入口 | rùkǒu | entrance; to import |
| 人口 | rénkǒu | population; people |
| 口袋 | kǒudai | pocket; bag; sack |
| 进口 | jìnkǒu | to import; imported |
| 口语 | kǒuyǔ | colloquial speech; spoken language |
| 一口气 | yīkǒuqì | one breath; in one breath |
| 口号 | kǒuhào | slogan; catchphrase |
| 伤口 | shāngkǒu | wound; cut |
| 窗口 | chuāngkǒu | window; opening providing restricted access (e.g. customer service window) |
Questions about 口
What does 口 mean?
口 (kǒu) means "mouth; classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc)" and is used as a measure word and noun.
How do you write 口?
口 is made of 1 character: 口 (3 strokes). That is 3 strokes in total.
Is 口 an HSK word?
Yes. 口 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say take a bite or a sip using 口?
Put a number and 口 after the verb, for example 吃一口 (chī yì kǒu, take a bite) or 喝一口 (hē yì kǒu, take a sip). Here 口 counts mouthfuls.
Is 口 the everyday word for mouth?
In speech people often say 嘴 (zuǐ) for the mouth itself, as in 张嘴 (zhāng zuǐ, open your mouth). 口 is more common inside compound words and set phrases, like 口袋 (kǒudai, pocket) or 人口 (rénkǒu, population).