龇牙

齜牙

zīyá

verb

Meanings

1 to bare one's teeth
2 to show one's teeth (in a grin or grimace)

Characters

to bare (the teeth)

Examples

HSK 3

他疼得直龇牙。

Tā téng de zhí zīyá.

He grimaced from the pain.

HSK 7-9

那只狗对着陌生人龇牙。

Nà zhī gǒu duì zhe mòshēngrén zīyá.

The dog bared its teeth at the stranger.

Tips

culture

龇牙 is the action behind QQ's iconic 龇牙 emoji (a wide grin showing all teeth), among the most-sent emoji in mainland Chinese chat. The collocation 龇牙咧嘴 ('bare teeth and twist mouth') describes a face grimacing in pain or anger.

Stroke Order

龇 zī

牙 yá