咧嘴 (liě zuǐ) — to grin | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

咧嘴 (liě zuǐ) is a vivid verb for 'to grin' — pulling the mouth open wide, usually from amusement or delight. Stronger and more physical than 微笑, which is a soft, gentle smile.

verb

to grin

Examples

咧嘴。
Tā tīng dào hǎo xiāo xi hòu rěn bú zhù liě zuǐ.
He couldn't help grinning after hearing the good news.
。
Nà ge xiǎo hái kāi xīn dì liě zhe zuǐ xiào.
That child grinned happily.
，。
Tā liě kāi zuǐ, lù chū le yì kǒu bái yá.
He opened his mouth into a grin, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

咧liēpull open

To 咧 (pull open) the 嘴 (mouth): to grin.

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.

口列咧

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth; speech

Sound part声符shēngfú

列

Same sound today

The left part 口 shows this is about the mouth or speech, and the right part 列 gives the sound liè.

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

口觜嘴

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

觜

觜zī嘴

Same sound today

嘴 pairs 口 (mouth) with 觜, which supplies its sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Emotions & Feelings

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