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齜牙咧嘴

简龇牙咧嘴 · 繁齜牙咧嘴

Mandarin · pinyin zī yá liě zuǐ

(idiom) to make a pained or menacing facial expression; to grimace; to snarl

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Characters in this entry

齜: Look up this written character
牙: yá · tooth, molars, teeth; serrated
咧: liě · stretch mouth, grimace, grin
嘴: zuǐ · mouth, lips
龇: zī · to show the teeth; crooked teeth

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–3 · zi1 ya2 lie3 zui3

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Connected dictionary

4character links1same-tone record

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

齜牙咧嘴 · find source passages ↗ · 龇牙咧嘴 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi1 ngaa4 le2 zeoi2

Cantonese word readings for 齜牙咧嘴. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to draw back the corners of one's mouth and bare one's teeth; to look fierce
(idiomatic) to grimace in pain

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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