剔牙 (tī yá) — to pick one's teeth (after eating) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A separable verb meaning to pick one's teeth (with a toothpick or similar after eating). The object 牙 can be fronted or the verb can take a 了 or 一下, as in 剔了一下牙.

verb

to pick one's teeth (after eating)

Examples

剔牙。
Fàn hòu jì de tī yá.
Remember to pick your teeth after meals.
。
Tā chī wán fàn tī le yá cái chū mén.
He picked his teeth after eating before going out.
，。
Nǐ zuì hǎo tī yí xià yá, yǒu cài yè.
You'd better pick your teeth a bit, there's a vegetable leaf.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

剔 means pick and 牙 means teeth, so the action is picking teeth.

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

刀刀dāoknife

Sound part声符shēngfú

易

易yì剔tī

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Hygiene & Grooming

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.