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乳牙 (rǔ yá) — milk teeth, baby teeth

Definition

Baby teeth that children have before the permanent set (恒牙) grows in.

noun
milk teethbaby teeth
Measure word · 颗

Examples

  • 乳牙。
    Hái zi yì bān zài liù suì zuǒ yòu kāi shǐ huàn rǔ yá.
    Children usually start losing their baby teeth around age six.
  • 乳牙，。
    rǔ yá Bǐ jiào cuì ruò, róng yì zhù yá.
    Baby teeth are relatively fragile and prone to cavities.
  • 乳牙，。
    Tā de rǔ yá hái méi diào wán, héng yá jiù cháng chū lái le.
    His baby teeth hadn't all fallen out yet when his permanent teeth started coming in.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

乳rǔmilk
牙yátooth

乳牙 pairs 乳, milk, with 牙, teeth, for the first set of teeth.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

乳 originally drew a kneeling woman holding and breastfeeding a child, matching its meanings of breast and milk.

Open 乳 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 牙 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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