interjection #26,771

Meanings

  1. 1 crack; snap; slap
  2. 2 child's buttocks

Examples

HSK 7-9
Pīlipālā, biānpào shēng xiǎngchè yèkōng.
Crack and crackle. The sound of firecrackers rang through the night sky.
HSK 7-9
Mùtou duànliè shí fāchū le yī shēng pī.
The wood let out a crack when it broke.

Tips

usage
rarely appears alone; it is most commonly seen in the compound 噼里啪啦, which describes a series of crackling sounds such as firecrackers or rain on a roof.

Components

radical
kǒu
mouth
Left-side mouth radical - pictograph of an open mouth, the small square shape. The indexing radical, and pure semantic fit: is an onomatopoeic verb (噼啪 'crackle, snap, pop'), the sharp cracking sound of firecrackers, breaking branches, or rapid slaps. Most -radical chars exist solely as sound-imitations: buzz, howl, toot, clap.
phonetic
to open up; sovereign
Right side supplies the sound: pì to pī with tone shift only. itself depicts a kneeling figure punished by a knife - originally 'to rule by law,' surviving in 开辟 open new ground, 复辟 restoration. As phonetic also gives metaphor, secluded, avoid, cleave - reinforces the crisp 'split' sound mirrored in .

Stroke Order