呷

xiā

口 + 甲

Definitions

xiā to sip; to drink; Taiwan pr. [xiá]

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 甲 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 甲

About

呷 is a phono-semantic compound combining the semantic radical 口 'mouth' and the phonetic 甲. 口 indicates that the character refers to an action involving the mouth, while 甲 (pronounced jiǎ, meaning 'armor' or 'first Heavenly Stem') provides the pronunciation. The resulting character is a verb meaning to sip, take a small drink, or taste a liquid carefully. It typically appears in literary or regional language to describe the slow, deliberate consumption of tea or wine in small mouthfuls.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他喜欢呷茶。

Tā xǐhuān xiā chá.

He likes to drink tea.

我呷了一口牛奶。

Wǒ xiā le yī kǒu niúnǎi.

I took a sip of milk.

她慢慢呷着咖啡。

Tā mànman xiā zhe kāfēi.

She slowly sips coffee.

我们边呷茶边看书。

Wǒmen biān xiā chá biān kànshū.

We drink tea while reading books.

爷爷每天早晨都呷一杯豆浆。

Yéye měitiān zǎochén dōu xiā yī bēi dòujiāng.

Grandpa drinks a glass of soy milk every morning.

在寒冷的冬天，呷一碗热汤很舒服。

Zài hánlěng de dōngtiān, xiā yī wǎn rè tāng hěn shūfu.

In the cold winter, drinking a bowl of hot soup is very comfortable.

他呷完那杯苦药后，立刻吃了颗糖。

Tā xiā wán nà bēi kǔ yào hòu, lìkè chī le kē táng.

After finishing that cup of bitter medicine, he immediately ate a candy.

尽管咖啡很烫，他还是小心翼翼地呷了一小口。

Jǐnguǎn kāfēi hěn tàng, tā háishì xiǎoxīnyìyì de xiā le yī xiǎo kǒu.

Although the coffee was very hot, he still carefully took a small sip.

Related Characters

Component: 口

Component: 甲

呷