咀 (jǔ) — (bound morpheme) to chew

Definition

咀 (jǔ) is a bound morpheme that always appears paired with 嚼 in the set phrase 咀嚼 ('to chew'). It is not used alone; the standalone verb meaning 'to chew' is 嚼.

bound form
(bound morpheme) to chew
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Chī fàn shí yào zǐ xì jǔ jué.
    Chew carefully when eating.
  • 。
    Yī shēng jiàn yì wǒ duō jǔ jué shū cài.
    The doctor advised me to chew vegetables more.
  • ，。
    Bú yào chī tài kuài, yào màn màn jǔ jué.
    Don't eat too fast, chew slowly.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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kǒuspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě咀jǔ
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.

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