About
The character for "tooth" originated as a pictograph of a row of teeth within a mouth, a form which, through stylistic regularization, eventually evolved into the traditional character "齒". Its structure later incorporated the element "止", which served both a phonetic and possibly a mnemonic function, leading to the standard form used for centuries. While its core meaning has consistently referred to the teeth themselves, this concrete noun also extended into verbal uses, such as the act of mentioning or enumerating, as well as into associative meanings like age, as in the number of years marked by the growth of teeth. The contemporary simplified form "齿" represents a return to a more skeletal, abstracted version of the earlier pictographic idea, streamlining the character while retaining its essential recognizability and core semantic field.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我的牙齿很白。
医生检查了我的牙齿。
这个机器有齿轮。
小孩子要保护牙齿。
锯子上有锯齿。
定期看牙医对牙齿好。
齿轮和齿条一起工作。
这种材料的齿形设计很独特。