塞牙 (sāi yá) — (colloquial, v.o.) (food) to get stuck between the teeth

Definition

A verb-object phrase (离合词) meaning food gets stuck between your teeth. Insert 了/过 between 塞 and 牙: 塞了牙, 塞过一次牙.

verb
(colloquial, v.o.) (food) to get stuck between the teeth

Examples

  • ，塞牙。
    Chī fàn de shí hou, mǐ fàn cháng cháng sāi yá.
    When eating, rice often gets stuck between my teeth.
  • ，。
    Wǒ sāi le yí cì yá, hěn bù shū fu.
    I had food stuck in my teeth once, and it was very uncomfortable.
  • 塞牙。
    Zhè ge ròu róng yì sāi yá.
    This meat easily gets stuck between your teeth.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

塞sāistuff
牙yáteeth

塞 means stuff, and 牙 are the teeth where food gets stuck.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 工工gōngtwo items
  • 廾廾gǒngtwo hands

塞 combines 宀 (house), 工 (two items), and 廾 (two hands), showing hands stuffing items into a house.

Open 塞 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 牙 →

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