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磨牙 (mó yá) — molar (tooth); molars

Definition

As a noun, 磨牙 means the molar teeth in the back of the mouth used for grinding food. (The verbal sense ‘grind one's teeth in one's sleep’ uses 磨牙 as a verb-object phrase, not a noun.)

noun
molar (tooth)molars
Measure word · 颗

Examples

  • ，磨牙。
    Tā zuó tiān qù kàn yá yī, yī shēng shuō tā yǒu kē mó yá xū yào bǔ.
    He went to the dentist yesterday, and the doctor said one of his molars needs a filling.
  • 磨牙。
    Shuā yá de shí hou yào zǐ xì shuā hòu miàn de mó yá.
    When brushing your teeth, you should carefully brush the molars in the back.
  • 磨牙。
    Xiǎo péng yǒu de mó yá cháng dé hěn hǎo.
    The child's molars are growing well.

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.

磨mógrind
牙yátooth

磨 describes the grinding function, and 牙 is a tooth, together naming the molar.

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
石石shírock
Sound part声符shēngfú
靡
靡mí磨mó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

磨 combines 石, showing rock, with 靡 for the sound.

Open 磨 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 牙 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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