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改口 (gǎi kǒu) — to change one's story, to correct oneself, to take back a previous remark

Definition

A verb-object phrase (离合词) meaning to take back or revise what one just said. Often used in patterns like 死不改口 ('refuses to take it back') to stress stubbornness.

verb
to change one's storyto correct oneselfto take back a previous remark

Examples

  • ，改口。
    Tā yì kāi shǐ shuō bù zhī dào, hòu lái cái gǎi kǒu shuō zhī dào le.
    At first he said he didn't know, only later did he change his story and say he knew.
  • ，改口。
    Tā gāng shuō wán jiù hòu huǐ le, xiǎng gǎi kǒu yǐ jīng lái bù jí le.
    She regretted it as soon as she said it, and by the time she wanted to take it back it was too late.
  • 改口，。
    Tā sǐ bù gǎi kǒu, jiān chí zì jǐ yuán lái de shuō fǎ.
    He absolutely refuses to change his story and sticks to his original statement.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

改gǎichange
口kǒumouth/words

改 means change and 口 refers to mouth or words, so the word means to change what one has said.

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
攴攴pū
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì改gǎi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early form of 改 paired 巳 as a sound part with 攴 as a meaning part; the sound part later changed.

Open 改 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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