咯吱 (gē zhī) — (onomatopoeia) creak, groan (sound of friction or pressure)

Definition

Onomatopoeia for a creak or groan — the sound something makes when pressed, bent, or stepped on (a door, floorboard, old chair). Often reduplicated as 咯吱咯吱 for a repeated creak.

onomatopoeia
creakgroan (sound of friction or pressure)

Examples

  • 咯吱。
    Mén gē zhī yī shēng kāi le.
    The door opened with a creak.
  • ，。
    Tā cǎi zài dì bǎn shàng, dì bǎn gē zhī gē zhī xiǎng.
    He stepped on the floor, and it creaked.
  • 咯吱。
    Lǎo yǐ zi zuò shàng qù jiù huì gē zhī xiǎng.
    The old chair creaks when you sit on it.

Origin

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè咯kǎ
Same sound today

咯 combines 口 (mouth) with 各, which gives the sound; the mouth part shows it is about a mouth action.

Open 咯 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
支
支zhī吱zī
Same sound today

吱 pairs 口 (mouth) with 支, which gives the sound. The mouth part points to noises like a creak or chirp.

Open 吱 →

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