嘴

zuǐ · HSK 2

mouth

嘴 — mouth

👄 嘴 = 口 (mouth) + 觜 (beak); phonetic 觜 also gives the zuǐ sound

The 口 radical on the left marks meaning (mouth); 觜 on the right is both the phonetic clue (zī/zuǐ) and originally meant a bird's beak or horn-tip, reinforcing the mouth/opening sense.

嘴 — mouth 口 + 此 (phonetic) + 角 (horn)
嘴 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The 口 (mouth) component gives the meaning, while 觜 (originally 'beak/horn-tip', combining 此 and 角) supplies the sound. It first meant a bird's beak, then broadened to mean mouth, and by extension the spout or tip of any object.

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