咬

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See also: 齩 and 𫜪

咬	U+54AC, 咬 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-54AC

← 咫
[U+54AB]

CJK Unified Ideographs

咭 →
[U+54AD]

Translingual

Han character

咬 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+6, 9 strokes, cangjie input 口卜金大 (RYCK), four-corner 6004₈, composition ⿰口交)

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 186, character 16
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3543
Dae Jaweon: page 406, character 1
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 621, character 2
Unihan data for U+54AC

Chinese

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (交) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
烄	keːws, kreːwʔ
礮	*pʰreːws
交	*kreːw
郊	*kreːw
茭	kreːw, kreːwʔ, *ɡreːwʔ
蛟	*kreːw
鮫	*kreːw
鵁	*kreːw
咬	kreːw, ŋɡreːwʔ, *qreːw
鉸	kreːw, kreːwʔ, *kreːws
佼	kreːw, kreːwʔ, *ɡreːwʔ
詨	kreːw, qʰreːws, *ɡreːws
絞	*kreːwʔ
狡	*kreːwʔ
姣	kreːwʔ, ɡreːw
筊	kreːwʔ, ɡreːw
校	kreːws, ɡreːws
珓	*kreːws
跤	*kʰreːw
頝	*kʰreːw
骹	*kʰraːw
齩	*ŋɡreːwʔ
洨	*ɡreːw
胶	*ɡreːw
效	*ɡreːws
効	*ɡreːws
傚	*ɡreːws
皎	*keːwʔ
恔	*keːwʔ
晈	*keːwʔ
窔	*qeːws
駮	*pqreːwɢ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *kreːw, *ŋɡreːwʔ, *qreːw) : semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 交 (OC *kreːw).

(oral sex): Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意) : 口 + 交.

Etymology 1

simp. and trad.		咬
alternative forms		齩

Perhaps Sino-Tibetan; compare Chepang ङेव्‍ह्‌सा (ŋewh-, “to nibble”) (Schuessler, 2007). The Min vernacular readings are reminiscent of Proto-Tai *giəwꟲ (“to chew”), whence Thai เคี้ยว (kíao) (ibid.).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): yǎo (yao³)

(Zhuyin): ㄧㄠˇ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): ngao³
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): ngaau⁵

(Taishan, Wiktionary): ngau²
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): ngâu

(Meixian, Guangdong): ngau¹
Northern Min (KCR): gàu
Eastern Min (BUC): gâ / ngāu
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): kā / kǎ / ngáu / gáu

(Teochew, Peng'im): ga⁶
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶ngau; ⁶yau

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yǎo
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄠˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yǎo
  - Wade–Giles: yao³
  - Yale: yǎu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: yeau
  - Palladius: яо (jao)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɑʊ̯²¹⁴/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: ngao³
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: ngao
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋau⁵³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: ngaau⁵
  - Yale: ngáauh
  - Cantonese Pinyin: ngaau⁵
  - Guangdong Romanization: ngao⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋaːu̯¹³/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: ngau²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ᵑɡau⁵⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: ngâu
  - Hakka Romanization System: ngau^ˊ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: ngau¹
  - Sinological IPA: /ŋau̯²⁴/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: ngau¹
  - Sinological IPA: /ŋau⁴⁴/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: gàu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kau⁴²/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: gâ / ngāu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɑ²⁴²/, /ŋau³³/

Note:

gâ - vernacular;
ngāu - literary.

Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese, Singapore)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kā
  - Tâi-lô: kā
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ka
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Singapore): /ka²²/
  - IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /ka³³/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Philippines)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kǎ
  - Tâi-lô: kǎ
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ka²²/
  - IPA (Jinjiang, Philippines): /ka³³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ngáu
  - Tâi-lô: ngáu
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ngao
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei): /ŋãu⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /ŋãu⁴¹/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gáu
  - Tâi-lô: gáu
  - Phofsit Daibuun: gao
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ɡau⁵⁵⁴/

Note:

kā/kǎ - vernacular;
ngáu/gáu - literary.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: ga⁶
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kă
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /ka³⁵/

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶ngau; ⁶yau
  - MiniDict: ngau^去; yau^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³ngau; ³hhiau
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /ŋɔ²³/, /ɦiɔ²³/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 咬
Mandarin	Beijing	/iɑu²¹⁴/
	Harbin	/iau²¹³/
	Tianjin	/iɑu¹³/
	Jinan	/iɔ⁵⁵/
	Qingdao	/iɔ⁵⁵/
	Zhengzhou	/iau⁵³/
	Xi'an	/niau⁵³/
	Xining	/ȵiɔ⁵³/
	Yinchuan	/iɔ⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/iɔ⁴⁴²/
	Ürümqi	/ȵiɔ⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/iau⁴²/ /ŋau⁴²/
	Chengdu	/ŋau⁵³/ /ȵiau⁵³/
	Guiyang	/ŋao⁴²/ 老 /niao⁴²/
	Kunming	/iɔ⁵³/
	Nanjing	/iɔo²¹²/
	Hefei	/iɔ²⁴/
Jin	Taiyuan	/niau⁵³/
	Pingyao	/ȵiɔ⁵³/
	Hohhot	/niɔ⁵³/
Wu	Shanghai	/ŋɔ²³/ /ɦiɔ²³/
	Suzhou	/ŋæ³¹/
	Hangzhou	/ʔiɔ⁵³/
	Wenzhou	/ŋuɔ³⁵/
Hui	Shexian	/ŋɔ³⁵/ /ŋo³⁵/ /iɔ³⁵/
Hui	Tunxi	/ŋo²⁴/
Xiang	Changsha	/ʐau⁴¹/ /ŋau⁴¹/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/ŋaɯ⁴²/
Gan	Nanchang	/ŋɑu²¹³/
Hakka	Meixian	/ŋau⁴⁴/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/ŋɑu²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/ŋau²³/
	Nanning	/ŋɛu²⁴/
	Hong Kong	/ŋau¹³/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/gau⁵³/ /ŋau⁵³/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/ŋau³²/ /kɑ²⁴²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/kau⁴²/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/ka³⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/ka³³/

Old Chinese
(Zhengzhang): /*ŋɡreːwʔ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	咬
Reading #	2/3
No.	6320
Phonetic component	交
Rime group	宵
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	齩
Old Chinese	/*ŋɡreːwʔ/
Notes	齩俗或體

Definitions

咬

to bite; to snap at; to gnaw
一條狗咬了他的腿。 [MSC, trad.]
一条狗咬了他的腿。 [MSC, simp.]
Yī tiáo gǒu yǎole tā de tuǐ. [Pinyin]
A dog snapped at his leg.

他被響尾蛇咬過。 [MSC, trad.]
他被响尾蛇咬过。 [MSC, simp.]
Tā bèi xiǎngwěishé yǎoguo. [Pinyin]
He had been bitten by a rattlesnake.
to incriminate; to accuse
他站在被告席上，什麼都招認，什麼人都咬。 [MSC, trad.]
他站在被告席上，什么都招认，什么人都咬。 [MSC, simp.]
Tā zhàn zài bèigào xí shàng, shénme dōu zhāorèn, shénme rén dōu yǎo. [Pinyin]
He was in the public dock, confessing everything, implicating everybody.
to articulate; to pronounce
這個字他咬得很準。 [MSC, trad.]
这个字他咬得很准。 [MSC, simp.]
Zhè ge zì tā yǎo dé hěn zhǔn. [Pinyin]
He can pronounce this word correctly.
- 1919, 《新舊約全書：官話和合譯本》 [Mandarin Bible, Union Version], Shanghai: American Bible Society, 士師記 [Judges] 12:6:
  
  就對他說、你說示播列．以法蓮人、因爲咬不眞字音、便說西播列． [MSC, trad.]
  就对他说、你说示播列．以法莲人、因为咬不真字音、便说西播列． [MSC, simp.]
  jiù duì tā shuō, Nǐ shuō shìbōliè. Yǐfǎliánrén, yīnwèi yǎo bù zhēn zìyīn, biàn shuō xībōliè. [Pinyin]
  they said to him, “Then say Shibboleth,” and he [the Ephraimite] said, “Sibboleth,” for he could not pronounce it right. (English Standard Version)
to be nitpicking on words
別老咬住我那句話不放。 [MSC, trad.]
别老咬住我那句话不放。 [MSC, simp.]
Bié lǎo yǎo zhù wǒ nà jù huà bù fàng. [Pinyin]
Don't keep nagging me about that remark of mine.
(of dog) to bark
(dialectal Mandarin, Jin) itchy
(neologism, slang, euphemistic) Alternative form of 口交 (kǒujiāo, “oral sex; to perform oral sex on”)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 癢 (“itchy”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		癢
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	癢, 癢癢, 刺撓
	Taiwan	癢
	Chengde	癢
	Ulanhot	刺撓
	Tongliao	刺撓
	Chifeng	癢, 刺撓
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	癢, 刺撓
	Heihe	癢
	Qiqihar	癢
	Harbin	癢癢, 細癢, 刺撓, 刺癢
	Jiamusi	癢, 刺撓
	Baicheng	癢
	Changchun	刺撓
	Tonghua	刺撓
	Shenyang	癢, 刺撓
	Jinzhou	癢
	Malaysia	癢
	Singapore	癢
Jilu Mandarin	Tianjin	癢癢
	Tangshan	癢
	Cangzhou	癢
	Baoding	癢
	Shijiazhuang	癢
	Lijin	癢, 癢癢
	Jinan	癢, 癢癢, 刺撓
Jiaoliao Mandarin	Dalian	癢
	Dandong	癢, 刺撓
	Yantai	癢
	Yantai (Muping)	癢癢
	Qingdao	癢, 癢癢
	Zhucheng	癢
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	刺撓
	Lingbao	癢
	Jining	癢癢
	Linfen	咬人
	Shangqiu	癢
	Yuanyang	癢
	Zhengzhou	癢
	Xinyang	癢
	Baihe	癢
	Xi'an	癢, 咬人, 咬
	Baoji	癢, 咬人
	Tianshui	癢, 咬
	Xining	癢, 咬
	Xuzhou	癢, 癢癢, 刺撓
	Fuyang	癢, 癢癢
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	咬
Lanyin Mandarin	Yinchuan	癢, 刺撓
	Bayanhot	癢
	Lanzhou	癢
	Dunhuang	癢
	Hami	癢
	Ürümqi	癢
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	癢, 咬
	Nanchong	癢
	Dazhou	癢
	Hanyuan	癢
	Xichang	癢
	Zigong	癢
	Chongqing	癢
	Wuhan	癢
	Yichang	癢
	Xiangyang	癢
	Tianmen	癢
	Guiyang	癢
	Zunyi	癢
	Bijie	癢
	Liping	癢
	Zhaotong	癢
	Dali	癢
	Kunming	癢
	Mengzi	癢
	Guilin	癢
	Liuzhou	癢
	Nanning (Wuming)	癢
	Jishou	癢
	Changde	癢
	Hanzhong	癢, 咬
Jianghuai Mandarin	Nanjing	癢
	Yangzhou	癢
	Lianyungang	癢, 癢癢
	Lianshui	癢
	Nantong	癢
	Anqing	癢
	Wuhu	癢
	Hefei	癢
	Hong'an	癢
Cantonese	Guangzhou	痕, 癢
	Hong Kong	痕, 痕癢
	Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou)	癢, 痎
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	痎
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	痎
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	痎
	Taishan	痎
	Kaiping (Chikan)	痎
	Dongguan	癢
	Yangjiang	癢
	Nanning	痕
	Nanning (Tanka)	痕
	Hepu (Shatian)	痎
	Guiping	痕
	Guiping (Jintian)	痕
	Guiping (Mule)	痕
	Pingnan	痕
	Guigang (Gangcheng)	痕
	Guigang (Pingdong)	痕
	Beihai	痕
	Beihai (Nankang)	痎
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	痕
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	痎
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	痕
	Sarikei (Xinhui)	痎
	Singapore (Guangfu)	痕
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	痕
	Móng Cái	痕
Gan	Nanchang	癢
Hakka	Meixian	癢
	Xingning	痎
	Dabu (Xihe)	癢
	Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua)	痎
	Zhongshan (Wuguishan)	痎
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	癢
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	癢
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	痎
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	癢
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	癢
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	癢
	Hong Kong	痎
	Kuala Lumpur (Dabu)	癢
	Senai (Huiyang)	痎
Huizhou	Jixi	癢
Huizhou	Shexian	癢
Jin	Taiyuan	癢, 癢癢, 刺癢
	Yangyuan	癢
	Datong	癢
	Lüliang (Lishi)	咬人, 咬
	Changzhi	癢, 咬搔
	Taibus (Baochang)	癢
	Linhe	癢, 咬
	Jining	癢, 咬
	Hohhot	癢, 圪搔, 刺撓
	Baotou	咬
	Dongsheng	咬
	Haibowan	咬
	Erenhot	咬
	Pingshan	癢癢
	Zhangjiakou	癢
	Handan	癢
	Linzhou	癢
	Suide	咬
Northern Min	Jian'ou	癢
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	癢
Southern Min	Xiamen	癢, 擽, 刺鑿, 刺頁
	Quanzhou	癢, 擽, 刺鑿, 刺頁
	Zhangzhou	癢, 擽
	Taipei	癢
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	癢
	Kaohsiung	癢
	Yilan	癢
	Changhua (Lukang)	癢
	Taichung	癢
	Tainan	癢
	Hsinchu	癢
	Kinmen	癢
	Penghu (Magong)	癢
	Penang (Hokkien)	癢, gatai
	Singapore (Hokkien)	癢
	Manila (Hokkien)	癢
	Chaozhou	癢
	Shantou	癢
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	癢
	Jieyang	癢
	Haifeng	痎
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	癢
	Pontianak (Teochew)	癢
	Leizhou	癢
	Haikou	癢
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	痕
Wu	Suzhou	癢, 肉癢
Wu	Wenzhou	癢
Xiang	Changsha	癢
Xiang	Shuangfeng	癢

Compounds

Etymology 2

simp. and trad.		咬

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): jiāo (jiao¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄠ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jiāo
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄠ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jiao
  - Wade–Giles: chiao¹
  - Yale: jyāu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jiau
  - Palladius: цзяо (czjao)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯ɑʊ̯⁵⁵/

Middle Chinese: kaew

Rime
Character	咬
Reading #	1/2
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	肴 (90)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	古肴切
Baxter	kaew
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kˠau/
Pan Wuyun	/kᵚau/
Shao Rongfen	/kau/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kaɨw/
Li Rong	/kau/
Wang Li	/kau/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kau/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	jiāo
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gaau¹

Old Chinese
(Zhengzhang): /*kreːw/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	咬
Reading #	1/3
No.	6302
Phonetic component	交
Rime group	宵
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	交
Old Chinese	/*kreːw/

Definitions

咬

Only used in 咬咬.

Etymology 3

simp. and trad.		咬

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): yāo (yao¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄧㄠ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: yāo
  - Zhuyin: ㄧㄠ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: yao
  - Wade–Giles: yao¹
  - Yale: yāu
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: iau
  - Palladius: яо (jao)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɑʊ̯⁵⁵/

Middle Chinese: 'aew

Rime
Character	咬
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	影 (34)
Final (韻)	肴 (90)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	II
Fanqie	於交切
Baxter	'aew
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/ʔˠau/
Pan Wuyun	/ʔᵚau/
Shao Rongfen	/ʔau/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʔaɨw/
Li Rong	/ʔau/
Wang Li	/au/
Bernhard Karlgren	/ʔau/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	yāo
Expected Cantonese Reflex	aau¹

Old Chinese
(Zhengzhang): /*qreːw/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	咬
Reading #	3/3
No.	6334
Phonetic component	交
Rime group	宵
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	䫜
Old Chinese	/*qreːw/

Definitions

咬

Only used in 咬哇 and 哇咬.

References

“咬”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–
“Entry #4789”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwanese Taigi] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

Japanese

Kanji

咬

(Hyōgai kanji)

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Readings

Go-on: きょう (kyō)^{←けう (keu, historical)}、ぎょう (gyō)^{←げう (geu, historical)}
Kan-on: こう (kō)^{←かう (kau, historical)}、ごう (gō)^{←がう (gau, historical)}
Kun: かむ (kamu, 咬む)

Korean

Hanja

咬 • (gyo) (hangeul 교, revised gyo, McCune–Reischauer kyo, Yale kyo)

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Vietnamese

Han character

咬: Hán Nôm readings: giảo, rao, ngẩu, ngấu, ngảo, ngảu, ngáu

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