About
龉 is a phono-semantic compound combining the tooth radical 齿 (chǐ) on the left and the phonetic 吾 (wú, an old pronoun meaning 'I' or 'my') on the right. The traditional script writes it as 齬, using the full radical 齒. Its original sense described uneven or misaligned teeth, a physical mismatch within the mouth. Over time, this concrete image of poor fit extended metaphorically to interpersonal discord or friction. Today the character is almost exclusively encountered in the compound 龃龉 (jǔyǔ), which denotes mutual incompatibility, quarreling, or a failure to see eye to eye.
Etymology Hide
Example Words
Report an issue
Flag incorrect definitions, examples, etymology, etc.