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嘴硬 (zuǐ yìng) — (verb phrase) to stubbornly deny fault or refuse to admit defeat; to be argumentative and unyielding in words

Definition

嘴上不服软、不肯认错或认输 (often while actually knowing one is wrong). Used to describe someone's stubborn verbal stance, not a general personality trait.

verb
(verb phrase) to stubbornly deny fault or refuse to admit defeatto be argumentative and unyielding in words

Examples

  • ，嘴硬，。
    Tā qí shí zhī dào zì jǐ cuò le, dàn jiù shì zuǐ yìng, bù kěn rèn cuò.
    He actually knows he's wrong, but he just refuses to admit it and won't apologize.
  • 嘴硬，。
    Nǐ bié zuǐ yìng le, zhèng jù dōu bǎi zài zhè lǐ.
    Stop being stubborn — the evidence is right here.
  • 嘴硬，。
    Tā zuǐ shàng zuǐ yìng, xīn lǐ qí shí yǐ jīng hòu huǐ le.
    She talks tough, but deep down she already regrets it.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

嘴zuǐmouth
硬yìnghard

嘴 means mouth and 硬 means hard, so the result is a hard mouth, stubborn in speech.

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kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
觜
觜zī嘴
Same sound today

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

Open 嘴 →

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
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
更
更gèng硬yìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

硬 is built from 石, meaning stone, to show hardness or stiffness, and 更, which gives the sound.

Open 硬 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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