龇 (zī): to bare one's teeth; to show on…

Meanings

1 to bare one's teeth; to show one's teeth (in anger, pain, or aggression)
2 (of teeth) to project; to stick out unevenly

Characters

龇

zī

to bare teeth

Examples

那条狗龇牙咧嘴，随时准备扑过来。

Nà tiáo gǒu zīyáliězuǐ, suíshí zhǔnbèi pū guòlái.

The dog bared its teeth as if it were about to attack at any moment.

他疼得龇着牙，嘴角扭曲。

Tā téng de zī zhe yá, zuǐjiǎo niǔqū.

He twisted his mouth in pain, his teeth bared.

Tips

usage

The everyday compound is the four-character idiom 龇牙咧嘴 — literally 'bare-teeth, twist-mouth', used for any pained or threatening grimace. It can describe (1) animals threatening to bite, (2) people contorted in pain or rage, or (3) ugly / fierce facial expressions. The single verb 龇 standalone, as in 龇着牙 (with teeth bared), is colloquial and vivid — common in novels and casual writing.

memory

Left 齿 (tooth) + right 此 (this — supplying the sound) = 'tooth-bared right here' = bared teeth. Sound family: 此 anchors 髭 (moustache), 紫 (purple), 雌 (female).

Components

radical

齿 chǐ

tooth

Left tooth radical (Kangxi #211) — a pictograph of teeth inside a mouth-frame. The semantic anchor: 龇 is an action of the teeth. Same radical heads 龈 (gums), 龋 (decayed tooth), 龌 (uneven teeth, fig. dirty).

phonetic

此 cǐ

this; supplying the sound

Right phonetic 此 — supplies the sound (cǐ → zī, regular shift). The same phonetic anchors 髭 (moustache), 紫 (purple), 雌 (female).