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嘴巴 (zuǐ ba) — mouth

Definition

嘴巴 (zuǐ ba) is the everyday, spoken word for 'mouth' (body part). 嘴 is the same meaning but more neutral in tone; 口 is the written/formal word and also a classifier. 吻 means 'kiss', not a body part.

noun
mouth
Measure word · 张, 个

Examples

  • 嘴巴。
    Tā màn màn zhāng kāi le zuǐ ba.
    He slowly opened his mouth.
  • 嘴巴。
    Tā wǎng zuǐ ba lǐ fàng le yì kē táng.
    She put a piece of candy in her mouth.
  • 嘴巴。
    Chī wán fàn hòu tā chī wán fàn yòng zhǐ jīn cā le cā zuǐ ba.
    After eating, he wiped his mouth with a tissue.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

嘴zuǐmouth
巴bā

嘴 “mouth” with 巴 forms a common word for mouth.

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kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
觜
觜zī嘴
Same sound today

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

Open 嘴 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 巴 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Body Parts5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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