咀嚼 (jǔ jué) — to chew; to ponder, to think over | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'to chew,' used figuratively for digesting ideas or words. Stronger and more literary than 思考, in the same deliberate register as 琢磨 and 沉思.

verb

to chewto ponderto think over

Examples

，咀嚼。
Zhè zhǒng niú ròu hěn yìng, xū yào màn màn jǔ jué.
This beef is very tough; you need to chew it slowly.
咀嚼。
Tā zǐ xì jǔ jué le lǎo bǎn de pī píng.
He carefully pondered the boss's criticism.
，咀嚼。
Duì yú zhè ge wèn tí, wǒ men yīng gāi rèn zhēn jǔ jué.
We should seriously think over this problem.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

咀 and 嚼 both mean chew, so it refers to chewing and to thinking something over carefully.

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.

口且咀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒuspeech

Sound part声符shēngfú

且

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 咀, 口 shows the mouth/speech side, and 且 is the sound part.

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

口爵嚼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

爵

爵jué嚼jiáo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

嚼 pairs 口 (mouth) with 爵, which gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Thinking & Cognition

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