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松口 (sōng kǒu) — (separable verb) to relax one's bite; to release one's hold; (figurative) to soften one's stance; to relent

Definition

A separable verb meaning 'to loosen one's grip' — literally relaxing a bite, and figuratively softening one's stance or relenting in a negotiation. The figurative sense (giving ground after resisting) is the common one at HSK 7.

verb
(separable verb) to relax one's biteto release one's hold(figurative) to soften one's stanceto relent

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā sōng le yì kǒu, bǎ gǔ tou fàng xià le.
    He relaxed his bite and put the bone down.
  • ，松口。
    Jīng guò jǐ lún gōu tōng, duì fāng zhōng yú sōng kǒu le.
    After several rounds of communication, the other side finally relented.
  • ，。
    Tā sōng guò liǎng cì kǒu, dàn dōu méi yǒu zhēn de ràng bù.
    He relented twice, but didn't really compromise.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

松sōngloosen
口kǒumouth

From 松 'loosen' and 口 'mouth', it pictures releasing a bite and then softening one's stance.

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
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng松sōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

松 uses 木 (wood) to show it is a tree, and 公 to give the sound.

Open 松 →

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

The form 口 looks like an open mouth.

Open 口 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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