咬
yǎoTraditional: 咬
#1506 of 5,000 Core 5000
Translation
to bite, to nip, to gnaw
Word origin
A phono-semantic compound combining 口 (kǒu, mouth) as the meaning element with 交 (jiāo) as the phonetic, showing an action done with the mouth.
- Origin
- phono-semantic
- Root
- 口 (kǒu, mouth) + 交 (jiāo, phonetic)
Stroke order
咬
Examples
口。
That dog gave him a bite.
唇。
She bit her lip nervously.
蚊。
Be careful not to get bitten by mosquitoes.
口苹。
The child took a big bite out of the apple.
牙。
He gritted his teeth and held on.
咬 (yǎo) means to bite, nip, or gnaw, the action of gripping or cutting with the teeth. It appears literally and in set phrases such as 咬牙 (to grit one's teeth).
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Go to my review queueThis word is part of lesson 31.