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

HSK 7-9

那条狗龇牙咧嘴，随时准备扑过来。

Nà tiáo gǒu zīyá-liězuǐ, suíshí zhǔnbèi pū guòlái.

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

HSK 7-9

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).