磨牙

móyá
verb #21,921

Meanings

  1. 1 to grind one's teeth (during sleep)
  2. 2 to bicker/argue pointlessly
  3. 3 (colloquial) molar tooth

Examples

Tā shuìjiào shí chángcháng móyá.
He often grinds his teeth in his sleep.
Nǐmen bié zài zhèr móyá le, gǎnjǐn zuò shì.
Stop bickering here and get to work.

Tips

usage
磨牙 has two distinct uses: (1) the medical/physical sense of bruxism (teeth grinding during sleep), and (2) the colloquial sense of 'talking back and forth without getting anywhere' — similar to English 'going around in circles'. Context makes the meaning clear.

Stroke Order