嘲

cháo, zhāo

口 + 朝

Definitions

cháo (verb) to ridicule; to mock

zhāo (noun) sound of birds chirping

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 朝 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 朝

About

The character 嘲 is a phono-semantic compound formed by the semantic component 口 (kǒu, mouth) and the phonetic component 朝 (cháo). Because the mouth radical often denotes speech or vocal action, its presence here signals that the word refers to a verbal act, specifically, to ridicule or mock. The phonetic component 朝 gives the pronunciation, distinguishing 嘲 from other characters that share the mouth radical. The structure therefore directly links the physical organ of speech to the derogatory act, resulting in a character expressly for verbal mocking.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他在嘲笑我。

Tā zài cháoxiào wǒ.

He is laughing at me.

不要嘲笑别人。

Bùyào cháoxiào biérén.

Do not laugh at others.

他经常嘲讽同学。

Tā jīngcháng cháofěng tóngxué.

He often mocks his classmates.

她嘲笑了我的错误。

Tā cháoxiào le wǒ de cuòwù.

She laughed at my mistake.

如果你嘲笑他，他会伤心。

Rúguǒ nǐ cháoxiào tā, tā huì shāngxīn.

If you laugh at him, he will be sad.

那个男孩嘲讽地看了我一眼。

Nàgè nánhái cháofěng de kànle wǒ yì yǎn.

That boy looked at me with a sneer.

尽管被嘲笑了，他仍然坚持自己的观点。

Jǐnguǎn bèi cháoxiào le, tā réngrán jiānchí zìjǐ de guāndiǎn.

Although he was laughed at, he still persisted in his own viewpoint.

他的嘲讽语气让在场的人都感到不舒服。

Tā de cháofěng yǔqì ràng zàichǎng de rén dōu gǎndào bù shūfu.

His sarcastic tone made everyone present feel uncomfortable.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 朝

嘲