jiáo
嚼
chew; masticate
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 7 examplesverb
chew with teeth; masticate
Used for the basic action of chewing food in daily speech.
Chī吃
fàn饭
yào要
xì细
jiáo嚼
màn慢
yàn咽
cái才
néng能
gèng更
hǎo好
xiāo消
huà化
。
You should chew slowly and thoroughly to digest food better.
Zhè这
kuài块
niú牛
ròu肉
tài太
yìng硬
，
wǒ我
jiáo嚼
bu不
làn烂
。
This piece of beef is too tough, I can't chew it up.
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Tā他
xǐ喜
huan欢
yī一
biān边
jiáo嚼
kǒu口
xiāng香
táng糖
yī一
biān边
kàn看
shū书
。
He likes chewing gum while reading books.
Bié别
shuō说
huà话
de的
shí时
hou候
zuǐ嘴
lǐ里
jiáo嚼
zhe着
dōng东
xi西
。
Don't talk with food chewing in your mouth.
Zhè这
gè个
jiān坚
guò果
tài太
cuì脆
，
yī一
jiáo嚼
jiù就
suì碎
le了
。
This nut is so crispy that it breaks as soon as you chew it.
verb
nitpick; overscrupulous
neutralUsed in the fixed idiom 咬文嚼字, referring to overly focusing on trivial wording details.
Xiě写
wén文
zhāng章
bú不
yào要
yǎo咬
wén文
jiǎo嚼
zì字
，
yào要
tōng通
sú俗
yì易
dǒng懂
。
Don't nitpick over wording when writing; make it easy to understand.
Tā他
shuō说
huà话
zǒng总
shì是
yǎo咬
wén文
jiǎo嚼
zì字
，
ràng让
rén人
jué觉
de得
hěn很
shēng生
yìng硬
。
He always nitpicks over words when speaking, making it feel stiff and unnatural.