张嘴 (zhāng zuǐ) — to open one's mouth (to speak); (figurative) to…

Definition

A separable verb meaning 'to open one's mouth' — literally to speak, and by extension to ask for a loan or favor. In the literal sense it's stronger than 说话: you physically part your lips first, often to start saying something.

verb

to open one's mouth (to speak)(figurative) to ask for a loan or favor

Examples

张嘴，。
Tā zhāng zuǐ xiǎng shuō huà, què shén me dōu méi shuō chū lái.
He opened his mouth to speak, but didn't manage to say anything.
张嘴。
Tā bù hǎo yì si zhāng zuǐ jiè qián.
He was too embarrassed to ask for a loan.
，。
Tā zhāng le zhāng zuǐ, zuì hòu hái shì méi shuō.
He opened his mouth a bit but in the end didn't say anything.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

张zhāngopen

嘴zuǐmouth

张 opens the 嘴, so the mouth is open.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 張; 张 is its simplified writing.

弓長張

Meaning part形符xíngfú

弓弓gōngbow

Sound part声符shēngfú

長

長cháng張zhāng

Same sound today

The traditional form 張 combines 弓, a bow, with 長, which points to the sound; the simplified 张 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 张 →

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

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 →

Appears in