吵嘴 (chǎo zuǐ) — to quarrel, to bicker (over minor issues) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to bicker' — about small, everyday issues, not a serious fight. Compare 吵架 (quarrel, more intense) and 争吵 (more formal, written).

verb

to quarrelto bicker (over minor issues)

Examples

吵嘴。
Tā men jīng cháng wèi xiǎo shì chǎo zuǐ.
They often bicker over small things.
。
Gāng cái tā men chǎo le jǐ jù zuǐ jiù huí jiā le.
They just exchanged a few quarrelsome words and went home.
吵嘴，。
Nǐ men bié zài chǎo zuǐ le, hǎo hǎo shāng liang.
Stop bickering, you two — discuss it properly.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

吵chǎoquarrel

吵 gives quarreling, and 嘴 gives mouth, so together it pictures quarreling with words.

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.

口少吵

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

少

少shǎo吵chǎo

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

吵 is built from 口, a mouth, plus 少, which supplies the sound. The mouth part matches meanings about noise and quarreling.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

口觜嘴

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

觜

觜zī嘴

Same sound today

嘴 pairs 口 (mouth) with 觜, which supplies its sound.

Appears in

Conflict & Agreement

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