龇牙咧嘴 (zī yá liě zuǐ) — to grimace in pain or discomfort; to bare one's teeth (in anger or aggression)

Definition

An onomatopoeic verb-object set phrase that vividly depicts a contorted face — bared teeth and a twisted mouth from pain, anger, or aggression. The two halves reduplicate the imagery: 龇牙 = baring the teeth, 咧嘴 = mouth pulled wide.

verb
to grimace in pain or discomfortto bare one's teeth (in anger or aggression)

Examples

  • ，龇牙咧嘴。
    Tā bù xiǎo xīn cǎi dào dīng zi, téng dé zī yá liě zuǐ.
    He accidentally stepped on a nail and was grimacing in pain.
  • 龇牙咧嘴，。
    Nà zhī yě gǒu duì zhe wǒ zī yá liě zuǐ, xià dé wǒ dòng dōu bù gǎn dòng.
    That stray dog bared its fangs at me, scaring me so much I didn't dare move.
  • ，，龇牙咧嘴。
    Tā shuāi le yì jiāo, suī rán méi shòu zhòng shāng, dàn hái shì téng dé zī yá liě zuǐ.
    He fell and though he wasn't seriously injured, he was still grimacing from the pain.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

龇牙bare teeth
龇zībare牙yáteeth
动宾Verb + object
咧嘴pull mouth
咧liēpull嘴zuǐmouth
动宾Verb + object

龇牙 and 咧嘴 describe baring teeth and pulling the mouth, together forming a grimace.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 牙 →

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; speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
列
列liè咧lie
Same sound today

The left part 口 shows this is about the mouth or speech, and the right part 列 gives the sound liè.

Open 咧 →

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 →

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