嚼 (jiáo) — to chew

Definition

嚼 (jiáo) is the everyday verb 'to chew' — applies broadly to food. 咀嚼 is the more formal or written version, often used figuratively for 'pondering'; 啃 is for gnawing hard things like bones or corn.

verb
to chew

Examples

  • 嚼，。
    Tā yì biān jiáo zhe kǒu xiāng táng, yì biān kàn bào zhǐ.
    He chewed gum while reading the newspaper.
  • ，嚼。
    Zhè ge niú ròu tài lǎo le, hěn nán jiáo.
    This beef is too tough to chew.
  • ，嚼。
    Hái zi hái xiǎo, yào jiào tā xì jiáo màn yàn.
    The child is still young; we need to teach him to chew carefully and swallow 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 7-9Food (General)5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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