嚼

jiáo, jiào

口 + 爵

HSK 3.0Level 7

Definitions

jiao2 (verb) to chew

jue2 (verb) to chew

Etymology phono-semantic

mouth

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 爵

About

The character 嚼 is a phono-semantic compound: the mouth radical 口 on the left signals an oral function, an action using the mouth, jaw, and teeth, while the phonetic component 爵 on the right supplies the sound. Its primary meaning is the physical act of chewing or grinding solid food into smaller pieces to ease swallowing and digestion. Figuratively, it describes the mental process of chewing over ideas: slowly ruminating on information, carefully pondering words, or thoroughly digesting complex concepts over an extended period.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

吃饭时要细嚼慢咽。

Chī fàn shí yào xì jiáo màn yàn.

You should chew slowly and swallow slowly when eating.

这肉太硬了，我嚼不动。

Zhè ròu tài yìng le, wǒ jiáo bú dòng.

This meat is too tough; I can't chew it.

他在无聊地嚼着口香糖。

Tā zài wúliáo de jiáo zhe kǒuxiāngtáng.

He is chewing gum out of boredom.

咀嚼食物有助于消化。

Jǔjué shíwù yǒuzhù yú xiāohuà.

Chewing food aids digestion.

骆驼可以长时间咀嚼干草。

Luòtuo kěyǐ cháng shíjiān jǔjué gāncǎo.

Camels can chew on hay for a long time.

别总在背后嚼别人的舌根。

Bié zǒng zài bèihòu jiáo biérén de shégēn.

Don't always gossip about others behind their backs.

他仔细咀嚼着这句话的含义。

Tā zǐxì jǔjué zhe zhè jù huà de hányì.

He carefully chewed over the meaning of this sentence.

这些谣言被人反复嚼来嚼去，早已失真。

Zhèxiē yáoyán bèi rén fǎnfù jiáo lái jiáo qù, zǎo yǐ shīzhēn.

These rumors have been chewed over repeatedly and have long since lost their truth.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 爵

嚼