About
The character 龇 is a simplified form of 齜, functioning as a phono-semantic compound. Its left side features the semantic radical 齒 (simplified as 齿), meaning "teeth", which establishes the anatomical focus on the mouth and dental structure. The right side contains the phonetic component 此 (cǐ), which indicates the pronunciation shifts to "zī" in this context. The character exclusively denotes the physical action of baring one's teeth, whether in a grimace, snarl, or forced smile, with the radical making this meaning immediately clear.
Etymology Hide
