乳齿 (rǔ chǐ) — milk teeth, baby teeth

Definition

noun
milk teethbaby teeth
Measure word · 颗

Examples

  • 乳齿。
    Hái zi de rǔ chǐ yì bān zài liù suì zuǒ yòu kāi shǐ diào.
    Children's baby teeth usually start falling out around age six.
  • 乳齿，。
    Yào hǎo hǎo bǎo hù rǔ chǐ, jiāng lái cái néng cháng chū jiàn kāng de héng yá.
    You need to take good care of baby teeth so that healthy permanent teeth can grow later.
  • ，乳齿。
    Tā xiào zhe zhāng kāi zuǐ, lù chū yì pái xiǎo xiǎo de rǔ chǐ.
    He smiled and opened his mouth, revealing a row of tiny baby teeth.

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
齿chǐtooth

'乳' means milk and '齿' tooth, together naming baby 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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 齒; 齿 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 齒 originally drew a mouth full of teeth, and later gained a part that gives a clue to its sound. The simplified 齿 is a later shorthand.

Open 齿 →

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