啜 (chuài) — (literary) to drink, to sip; (literary) to eat; (literary) to sob, to weep
Definition
Literary/classical verb with three senses: to sip (as in 啜饮), to eat (a small amount), and to weep/sob (啜泣). Today it mostly survives in the set expressions 啜泣 and 啜饮.
verb
(literary) to drinkto sip(literary) to eat(literary) to sobto weep
Examples
- 。Tā zuò zài chuāng qián dú zì chuài qì.He sat by the window sobbing alone.
- 啜，。Shī rén chuài yǐn fù shī, gǎn kǎi wàn qiān.The poet sipped wine and composed poetry, filled with emotions.
- 啜，。Nàn mín chuài yǐn xī zhōu chōng jī, zàn dé wēn bǎo.The refugees sipped thin gruel to stave off hunger, temporarily getting by.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
叕
叕zhuó啜chuò
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
啜 combines 口 (mouth) with 叕. 口 relates the character to mouth actions, and 叕 provides the sound.
Appears in
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