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吱吱 (zhī zhī) — (onomatopoeia) chirp (of birds); squeak (of mice, rubber)

Definition

Onomatopoeia for thin, high-pitched animal and object sounds — birds chirping, mice squeaking, or a toy being squeezed. It reduplicates as 吱吱叫 or 吱吱声 to name the sound itself.

onomatopoeia
chirp (of birds)squeak (of mice, rubber)

Examples

  • 吱吱。
    Xiǎo niǎo zài shù shàng zhī zhī dì jiào.
    Little birds are chirping in the tree.
  • 吱吱。
    Bàn yè lǐ wǒ tīng dào lǎo shǔ zhī zhī de shēng yīn.
    In the middle of the night I heard the squeaking of mice.
  • 吱吱。
    Zhè ge wán jù yì niē jiù huì fā chū zhī zhī shēng.
    This toy makes a squeaking sound when you squeeze it.

Origin

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
支
支zhī吱zī
Same sound today

吱 pairs 口 (mouth) with 支, which gives the sound. The mouth part points to noises like a creak or chirp.

Open 吱 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
支
支zhī吱zī
Same sound today

吱 pairs 口 (mouth) with 支, which gives the sound. The mouth part points to noises like a creak or chirp.

Open 吱 →
Appears in
Senses

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