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 5

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.

HSK 5

他疼得直龇牙。

Tā téng de zhí zīyá.

He grimaced from the pain.

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