Definitions

sāi (noun) cheek

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. ⺼ represents the meaning and represents the sound. Simplified form of .

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character for "cheek" originated as the traditional form 顋, which structurally combined the semantic component 頁, indicating its relation to the head, with the phonetic component 思. This form clearly situated the term within the facial region, though its precise reference likely encompassed the lower jaw or the general area of the cheek. Over time, the character was recast as 腮, where the "head" component was replaced by 月 (the flesh radical), a logical shift that more directly specifies the fleshy part of the anatomy it describes, thereby refining its meaning to denote specifically the cheek.

Example Sentences Hide

她的红很漂亮。

Tā de sāihóng hěn piàoliang.

Her blush is very pretty.

宝宝的帮子肉嘟嘟的。

Bǎobao de sāibāngzi ròu dūdū de.

The baby's cheeks are chubby.

小仓鼠把食物塞进里。

Xiǎo cāngshǔ bǎ shíwù sāi jìn sāi lǐ.

The little hamster stuffs food into its cheek pouches.

他笑得帮子都酸了。

Tā xiào de sāibāngzi dōu suān le.

He laughed so much that his cheeks ached.

腺炎是一种传染病。

Sāixiàn yán shì yī zhǒng chuánrǎn bìng.

Mumps is an infectious disease.

她托着陷入了沉思。

Tā tuō zhe sāi xiànrù le chénsī.

She rested her chin in her hand and fell into deep thought.

他气得边的肌肉在跳动。

Tā qì de sāi biān de jīròu zài tiàodòng.

He was so angry that the muscles by his cheeks were twitching.

医生检查了他的腺,排除了发炎的可能。

Yīshēng jiǎnchá le tā de sāixiàn, páichú le fāyán de kěnéng.

The doctor examined his parotid gland and ruled out the possibility of inflammation.