嘴
mouth; beak; spout
zuǐ
What does 嘴 mean?
嘴 (zuǐ) is the noun for 'mouth' on a person or animal, and by extension the spout-like opening on objects (茶壶嘴 teapot spout, 瓶嘴 bottle neck). It is the everyday body-part word that natives reach for when talking about eating, kissing, talking, or pouting. Two contrasts with English help: first, Chinese distinguishes 嘴 (the physical mouth, lips and all) from 口 (kǒu, the mouth as an opening, used in formal, medical, and idiomatic contexts like 人口 population or 口语 spoken language) — English collapses both into 'mouth.'
Second, 嘴 often carries personality: 嘴甜 'sweet-mouthed' means good with flattering words, 嘴硬 'hard-mouthed' means stubborn in argument. The word is concrete and warm; 口 is abstract and formal.
Note: 嘴 is the everyday word for mouth on a person or animal. In medical or anatomical contexts, 口 (kǒu) is preferred (e.g. 口腔 oral cavity); in poetry or formal description, 口
Character breakdown
mouth; the 口 radical on the left signals 'mouth'; the right side 觜 gives the sound
Memory hook: 口 (mouth radical) on the left tells you it's about the mouth — the rest of the character is just the sound.
Measure word for 嘴
Example sentences
他的嘴很甜，谁都喜欢他。
Tā de zuǐ hěn tián, shéi dōu xǐhuan tā.
He's a smooth talker — everyone likes him.
spoken
请张开嘴，让医生看看。
Qǐng zhāngkāi zuǐ, ràng yīshēng kànkan.
Please open your mouth and let the doctor take a look.
neutral
你别说了，闭嘴！
Nǐ bié shuō le, bì zuǐ!
Stop talking — shut up!
spoken, rude
小孩子的嘴巴上还有米饭。
Xiǎo háizi de zuǐba shàng hái yǒu mǐfàn.
There's still rice on the little kid's mouth.
spoken
这个茶壶嘴有点儿小。
Zhège cháhú zuǐ yǒudiǎnr xiǎo.
The spout on this teapot is a little small.
neutral
Common phrases with 嘴
Synonyms
嘴巴 is the disyllabic, more colloquial form — what kids and adults both say in conversation. 嘴 alone is fine in compounds and writing; in casual speech, 嘴巴 sounds more natural.
Don't confuse 嘴 with
咀 means 'to chew' and appears in 咀嚼 (jǔjué, to chew). It looks like 嘴 but the right side is 且 not 觜, and the meaning is the action, not the body part.
FAQ
Acquire by listening
Hear 嘴 in real Chinese, not in a flashcard.
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