嗝儿 (gé ér) — belch; hiccup

Definition

Colloquial noun covering both 'belch' and 'hiccup' — context (e.g. 打嗝儿 after drinking vs. prolonged hiccupping) disambiguates. The neutral written term is 呃逆.

noun
belchhiccup

Examples

  • 嗝儿。
    Tā dǎ le yí gè xiǎng gé ér.
    He let out a loud belch.
  • 嗝儿。
    Hē qì shuǐ hòu tā dǎ le yí gè dà gé ér.
    After drinking soda, he had a big belch.
  • 嗝儿，。
    Tā dǎ le yí shàng wǔ gé ér, hěn nán shòu.
    She had hiccups all morning and felt very uncomfortable.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

嗝gébelch
儿érsuffix

嗝 names the belch; 儿 makes the familiar form for a hiccup.

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
鬲
鬲gé嗝gé(r)
Same sound today

In 嗝, 口 shows the mouth, and 鬲 gives the sound gé.

Open 嗝 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →

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