板牙 (bǎn yá) — front teeth (colloquial) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Colloquial term for the front teeth (incisors). The standard word is 门牙; 板牙 is casual, often used for baby teeth. Not for molars or other teeth.

noun

front teeth (colloquial)

Measure word · 颗

Examples

板牙。
Tā xiào qǐ lái lù chū liǎng kē bǎn yá.
When he smiles, he shows his two front teeth.
，板牙。
Tā bù xiǎo xīn shuāi le yì jiāo, kē dào le bǎn yá.
He accidentally fell and knocked his front teeth.
板牙，。
Wǒ xiǎo shí hou huàn bǎn yá de shí hou, nà kē yá diào le hǎo jǐ gè yuè cái cháng chū lái.
When I was a child and losing my baby teeth, that tooth was out for several months before growing in.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

板 suggests flat boards and 牙 means teeth, so the word denotes flat front teeth.

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.

木反板

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

反

反fǎn板bǎn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

板 pairs 木 (tree) with 反 as a sound part.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.