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活口 (huó kǒu) — living witness or survivor of an incident, especially one who can provide information; (colloquial) loophole or way out; leeway in wording that allows for flexibility

Definition

Two distinct senses: a 'living witness/survivor' who can provide information, and (colloquially) a 'loophole' or flexibility in wording. Pick the sense by context — not a contradiction, just a polysemous noun.

noun
living witness or survivor of an incident, especially one who can provide information(colloquial) loophole or way outleeway in wording that allows for flexibility

Examples

  • 活口，。
    Jǐng fāng xiǎng jìn bàn fǎ bǎo hù nà ge huó kǒu, yīn wèi tā zhī dào tài duō mì mì.
    The police did everything to protect that witness, because he knew too many secrets.
  • 活口，。
    Hé tong lǐ liú le yí gè huó kǒu, wǒ men kě yǐ suí shí biàn gēng tiáo kuǎn.
    There is a loophole in the contract; we can change the terms anytime.
  • 活口。
    Zhè cì bào zhà shì jiàn wéi yī de huó kǒu yǐ jīng ān quán zhuǎn yí.
    The sole survivor of this explosion has been safely relocated.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

活huóalive
口kǒumouth; person

活 means alive and 口 suggests a person, so 活口 is a living witness or survivor.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑活huó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

活 is built from 氵 (water) and 𠯑, which shows the sound; 𠯑 later changed into 舌.

Open 活 →

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
Crime & Police

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