() — to pick (e.g., teeth); to remove with a pointed tool; to strip (meat from a bone)

Definition

剔 (tī) means picking, scraping, or stripping things off with a pointed tool — often paired with 牙 ('pick teeth') or 骨 ('strip meat from bone'). In extended use, 剔除 also means removing or weeding out unwanted items from a group.

verb
to pick (e.g., teeth)to remove with a pointed toolto strip (meat from a bone)

Examples

  • Chī wán fàn jì de tī yá.
    Remember to pick your teeth after eating.
  • Tā bǎ jī tuǐ shàng de ròu tī dé hěn gān jìng.
    He stripped the meat off the chicken leg very cleanly.
  • Zhè fèn cái liào xū yào tī chú qí zhōng de cuò wù xìn xī.
    This material needs to have the incorrect information removed from it.

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
dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

剔 combines 刀, a knife, with 易, which gives the character its sound.

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