启齿

啟齒
qǐchǐ
verb #26,814

Meanings

  1. 1 to open one's mouth (to speak)
  2. 2 to start talking
  3. 3 to broach a subject

Examples

Zhè jiàn shì tài nán kāikǒu, tā yīzhí bù gǎn qǐchǐ.
This matter was too hard to bring up, and he never dared to broach it.
Nán yǐ qǐchǐ de shì, háishi yào gǔqǐ yǒngqì shuō chūlái.
Even things that are hard to say out loud — you still need to muster the courage to speak them.

Tips

usage
启齿 is most commonly used in negative or difficult contexts: 难以启齿 (hard to bring up), 启齿 (too embarrassed to say). It implies that there is some reluctance, embarrassment, or difficulty in speaking.

Stroke Order

齿 chǐ