舌 (shé): tongue
舌 (shé) is a Chinese character meaning “tongue.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 千 (structural) and 口 (structural). It ranks #1931 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 舌 a tongue 千 sticking out of a mouth 口. Its radical form 舌 (tongue) appears in many related characters such as 舒 (shū, to stretch), 舍 (shě, to give up), 舔 (tiǎn, to lick).
Definitions
- tongue
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA tongue 千 sticking out of a mouth 口
Decomposition: ⿱千口 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 舌 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 舌
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 饶舌noun | ráo shé | talkative |
| 口舌noun | kǒu shé | dispute or misunderstanding caused by gossip |
| 舌尖noun | shé jiān | tip of tongue |
| 长舌妇noun | cháng shé fù | female gossip |
| 嚼舌verb | jiáo shé | to gossip |
| 唇舌noun | chún shé | argument |
| 大舌头adjective | dà shé tou | (coll.) lisp |
| 瞠目结舌phrase | chēng mù jié shé | (idiom) dumbfounded |
| 巧舌如簧 | qiǎo shé rú huáng | lit. to have a tongue like the reed of a wind instrument (idiom) |
| 唇枪舌剑phrase | chún qiāng shé jiàn | (idiom) to cross verbal swords |
| 喉舌noun | hóu shé | mouthpiece |
| 火舌noun | huǒ shé | tongue of flame |
| 七嘴八舌phrase | qī zuǐ bā shé | lively discussion with everybody talking at once |
| 鸭舌帽noun | yā shé mào | peaked cap |
| 舌战verb | shé zhàn | verbal sparring |
舌 appears in 89 compound words: 21 as the first character, 49 as the last, and 29 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 舌 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (24)
to pass on stories (idiom); to sow dissension; to blab; to tell tales
dry mouth and sore throat; having spoken so much that one's mouth and throat become thirsty
dry mouth and sore throat; having spoken so much that one's mouth and throat become thirsty
to pass on stories (idiom); to sow dissension; to blab; to tell tales
Showing 12 of 24 idioms containing 舌.
Example Sentences
舌字在不同的语境中有不同的用法。
jī zì zài bù tóng de yǔ jìng zhōng yǒu bù tóng de yòng fǎ .
The character "tongue" has different usages in different contexts.
童现草莓舌当心猩红热 医:未治恐并发心脏病
tóng xiàn cǎo 莓 shé dāng xīn xīng hóng rè yī : wèi zhì kǒng bìng fā xīn zāng bìng
If Your Child Has a Strawberry Tongue, Watch Out for Scarlet Fever; Doctor Warns: Untreated Cases May Lead to Heart Disease
泰射击场枪枝走火 中游客脸中弹、舌头被打掉
tài shè jī chǎng qiāng zhī zǒu huǒ zhōng yóu kè liǎn zhōng dàn , shé tóu bèi dǎ diào
Accidental discharge at Thai shooting range leaves Chinese tourist with a bullet wound to the face and his tongue severed
人师变狼师!强吻摸胸还伸舌头 北市代理师辩“关心”遭判8月
rén shī biàn láng shī ! qiáng wěn mō xiōng hái shēn shé tóu běi shì dài lǐ shī biàn guān xīn zāo pàn 8 yuè
Teacher Turns into a Predator! Forced Kiss, Groping, and Sticking Out His Tongue—Taipei Substitute Teacher Claims It Was "Concern," Sentenced to 8 Months
免疫功坊TE-8105舌下剂型突破 抢攻长效GLP-1治疗商机
miǎn yì gōng fāng T E 8 1 0 5 shé xià jì xíng tū pò qiǎng gōng cháng xiào G L P 1 zhì liáo shāng jī
ImmuneWorks Achieves Breakthrough with TE-8105 Sublingual Formulation, Targeting Opportunities in Long-Acting GLP-1 Therapy
遗产官司!双方唇枪舌战3小时 张国炜主张“让没包袱的人来执行...
yí chǎn guān sī ! shuāng fāng chún qiāng shé zhàn 3 xiǎo shí zhāng guó 炜 zhǔ zhāng ràng méi bāo fú de rén lái zhí háng . . .
Estate lawsuit! The two sides fought for 3 hours Zhang Guowei advocated "let people without baggage carry it out...
靠！我咬到自己舌头了。
Kào! wǒ yǎo dào zìjǐ shétou le.
Ouch! I bit my tongue!
你喜欢饶舌音乐吗 ?
Nǐ xǐhuan ráoshéyīnyuè ma?
Do you like rap?
他拿了面镜子细看自己的舌头。
Tā ná le miànjìng zǐxì kàn zìjǐ de shétou.
He picked up a mirror and examined his tongue.
琳达把舌头伸了出来。
Lín dá bǎ shétou shēn le chūlái.
Linda stuck her tongue out.
Character Family
舌 Radical Family — Characters sharing the tongue radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 舌 (shé) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 舌 have?
What is the radical of 舌?
What are the components of 舌?
What are common words containing 舌?
Is 舌 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 舌 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.