Meaning of 嘴
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- mouth
- beak
- nozzle
- spout (of teapot etc)
Measure word: 張|张,個|个
How to use 嘴
嘴 is the everyday word for mouth, and it also covers beaks, nozzles and the spout of a teapot. In speech people often say 嘴巴 (zuǐba). Example: 张开嘴。(Zhāngkāi zuǐ.) Open your mouth.
嘴 (zuǐ) has the mouth part 口 on the left, so it is clearly about the mouth. The right side 觜 (zī) gives a hint of the sound, and you can picture a bird's beak sticking out next to an open mouth.
Common mistake: Learners often write only 口 (kǒu) when they mean a person's mouth in casual speech. 口 is used more in set words like 口语 (kǒuyǔ), while 嘴 or 嘴巴 is what people say when pointing at their mouth. Also keep the third tone in zuǐ and do not confuse it with 最 (zuì, most).
嘴 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.
嘴 zuǐ · mouth · 16 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 嘴.
| 嘴巴 | zuǐba | mouth (CL:張|张[zhang1]); slap in the face |
| 嘴唇 | zuǐchún | lip |
| 插嘴 | chāzuǐ | to interrupt (sb talking); to butt in |
| 七嘴八舌 | qīzuǐ-bāshé | lively discussion with everybody talking at once |
| 吵嘴 | chǎozuǐ | to quarrel |
| 咧嘴 | liězuǐ | to draw back the corners of one's mouth (as when smiling, grimacing, or snarling) |
| 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 |
Questions about 嘴
What does 嘴 mean?
嘴 (zuǐ) means "mouth; beak" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 嘴?
嘴 is made of 1 character: 嘴 (16 strokes). That is 16 strokes in total.
Is 嘴 an HSK word?
Yes. 嘴 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say someone talks too much or has a sharp tongue using 嘴?
You can say 他嘴很快 (tā zuǐ hěn kuài) for someone who blurts things out, or 嘴甜 (zuǐ tián) for someone who speaks sweetly. 插嘴 (chāzuǐ) means to interrupt, and 吵嘴 (chǎozuǐ) means to quarrel.
Is 嘴巴 the same as 嘴?
They mean the same body part, and 嘴巴 is a bit more colloquial and common in speech. 嘴巴 can also mean a slap in the face, as in 打嘴巴 (dǎ zuǐba). In compounds like 嘴唇 (zuǐchún, lip) you use only 嘴.