毒舌

dúshé
adjective

Meanings

  1. 1 sharp-tongued
  2. 2 cutting in speech
  3. 3 savage (in a witty way)

Examples

Tā shuōhuà hěn dúshé, dànshì hěn gǎoxiào.
He's savage when he speaks, but also really funny.
Zhège yǐngpíng rén yǐ dúshé zhùchēng.
This film critic is famous for his sharp tongue.
Bié nàme dúshé, tā huì nánguò de.
Don't be so cutting — she'll feel hurt.

Tips

culture
In recommendation and review culture, a 毒舌 critic is a prized commodity — Douban, Bilibili, and WeChat all have popular 毒舌 columns. Being 毒舌 is usually a compliment (sharp, honest, funny) as long as the criticism is accurate.
memory
Literally "poison tongue" — the imagery is identical to English "venomous tongue" or "tongue like a snake."

Stroke Order

shé