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龁 (hé) is a phono-semantic compound comprising the tooth radical 齿 (chǐ) and phonetic 乞 (qǐ); its traditional form 齕 uses the full radical 齒. It directly denotes the act of biting, chewing, or gnawing, typically the feeding habits of animals or the grinding of teeth. In classical texts, it describes the continuous nibbling of rodents or livestock, and metaphorically suggests a slow, persistent consumption or destruction of resources. The simplified form preserves the tooth association while significantly reducing the stroke count of the complex traditional radical.
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