咬 (yǎo): to bite, to nip
咬 (yǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “to bite.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (semantic) and 交 (phonetic). It ranks #1646 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 咬 mouth. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 叫 (jiào, to call, to be called), 右 (yòu, (bound form) right).
Definitions
- to bite
- to nip
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 咬 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 咬紧牙关verb | yǎo jǐn yá guān | (idiom) to grit one's teeth tightly |
| 咬牙verb | yǎo yá | to clench one's teeth |
| 咬牙切齿phrase | yǎo yá qiè chǐ | (idiom) to gnash one's teeth |
| 一口咬定phrase | yī kǒu yǎo dìng | to arbitrarily assert |
| 咬定noun | yǎo dìng | to assert |
| 咬合verb | yǎo hé | (of uneven surfaces) to fit together |
| 咬嚼verb | yǎo jiáo | to chew |
| 咬啮verb | yǎo niè | to gnaw |
| 半路杀出的程咬金 | bàn lù shā chū de chéng yǎo jīn | see 半路殺出個程咬金|半路杀出个程咬金 |
| 半路杀出个程咬金phrase | bàn lù shā chū gè chéng yǎo jīn | lit. Cheng Yaojin ambushes the enemy (saying) |
| 反咬一口 | fǎn yǎo yī kǒu | to make a false countercharge |
| 紧咬不放 | jǐn yǎo bù fàng | (idiom) unwilling to let go |
| 咬定牙关 | yǎo dìng yá guān | see 咬緊牙關|咬紧牙关 |
| 咬定牙根 | yǎo dìng yá gēn | see 咬緊牙關|咬紧牙关 |
| 程咬金 | chéng yǎo jīn | Cheng Yaojin (589-665), aka 程知節|程知节, Chinese general of the Tang dynasty |
咬 appears in 42 compound words: 52 as the first character, 12 as the last, and 36 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 咬 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
Showing 5 of 6 idioms containing 咬.
Example Sentences
妈妈咬嘱我要按时吃饭，注意身体健康。
mā mā yǎo zhǔ wǒ yāo àn shí chī fàn , zhù yì shēn tī jiàn kāng .
Mom reminded me to eat on time and take care of my health.
南投焚化炉抗争者咬女警 赖喊“鸡尾酒疗法” 她叹卖弄
nán tóu fén huà lú kàng zhēng zhě yǎo nǚ jǐng lài hǎn jī wěi jiǔ liáo fǎ tā tàn mài nòng
Protesters at Nantou Incinerator Bite Female Police Officer; Lai Calls for "Cocktail Therapy"; She Sighs at the Grandstanding
...脚怪!国内第3例SFTS本土病例 男遭叮咬感染
. . . jiǎo guài ! guó nèi dì 3 lì S F T S běn tǔ bìng lì nán zāo dīng yǎo gǎn rǎn
...Tick! China's third locally transmitted case of SFTS: Man infected after being bitten
男子把手伸进鲶鱼池被突袭咬伤,科学解读动物咬伤的健康隐患!
nán zǐ bǎ shǒu shēn jìn 鲶 yú chí bèi tū xí yǎo shāng , kē xué jiě dòu dòng wù yǎo shāng de jiàn kāng yǐn huàn !
Man Bitten by Catfish After Reaching Into Tank: A Scientific Look at the Health Risks of Animal Bites!
大头蛇被误认是毒蛇龟壳花 苗栗男遭蛇咬伤送医幸无大碍
dà tóu shé bèi wù rèn shì dú shé guī qiào huā miáo 栗 nán zāo shé yǎo shāng sòng yī xìng wú dà ài
The big-headed snake was mistaken for a poisonous snake turtle shell flower, and the Miaoli man was bitten by a snake and sent to the hospital, but fortunately, there was no serious problem
中工经营权之争/中工一次告十人 咬宝佳集团内线交易
zhōng gōng jīng yíng quán zhī zhēng zhōng gōng yī cì gào shí rén yǎo bǎo jiā jí tuán nèi xiàn jiāo yì
The dispute over the management rights of China Industrial Industry/China Industrial Engineering sues ten people at a time to bite Baojia Group's insider trading
他用牙齿咬碎了核桃。
Tāyòng yáchǐ yǎo suì le hétao.
He cracked the walnut with his teeth.
靠！我咬到自己舌头了。
Kào! wǒ yǎo dào zìjǐ shétou le.
Ouch! I bit my tongue!
咬紧牙关坚持到底！
Yǎojǐnyáguān jiānchí dàodǐ!
Grit your teeth and bear it!
你真走运，因为他没咬你。
Nǐ zhēn zǒuyùn, yīnwèi tā méi yǎo nǐ.
You're lucky because he didn't bite you.
Character Family
Homophones — Characters pronounced yǎo
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 咬 (yǎo) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 咬 and 较?
How many strokes does 咬 have?
What is the radical of 咬?
What are the components of 咬?
What are common words containing 咬?
What characters sound the same as 咬 (yǎo)?
Is 咬 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 咬 with real-time feedback
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