This website uses cookies. Find out more or .
zuǐ
n. mouth; something like a mouth; words, tongue
Discussion of
To include posts you need to register at trainchinese.com
1
0
口 vs 嘴

口 and 嘴 both have a lot of different meanings and parts of speech, but both can mean "mouth (of a human being or animal)".

When 口 and 嘴 both mean "mouth (of a human being or animal)", 口 is more formal and 嘴 is informal. 口 usually appears in words or idioms, while 嘴 can be used independently a noun.

For example, when 口 appears in idioms, we cannot use 嘴 to replace it:
守口如瓶 [idiom] to keep one's mouth shut as that of a jar, to be tight-lipped
张口结舌 [idiom] be at a loss for words, be agape and tongue-tied

嘴 used independently as a noun, e.g.
- 一张嘴 [phr] a mouth
- 闭嘴 [v] shut up
- 张嘴 [v] open ones mouth, speak, ask for (a favor, etc.)

嘴 can also appears in idioms, and needless to say that because idioms are fixed terms, we cannot replace it with 口:
- 狗嘴里吐不出象牙 [idiom] a dog does not grow elephant tusk in its mouth -- look not for musk in dog's kennel
- 牛头不对马嘴 [idiom] A horse's jaw doesn't match a cow's head -- incongruous, irrelevant

They are paired habitually with other words and in most cases they are not interchangeable. You will have it memorize them one by one.
lisaC
0
0
Are there any common collocations using 嘴 (zuǐ)?
个学生
Show 1 reply
You you can select to receive personal notifications on the app or via email for important contributions to words that you are learning in the account settings .