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舌

tongue

shé
6 strokes · 舌 — pictograph: a tongue extended from a mouth · HSK 3

What 舌 is made of

千 + 口 = 舌
千thousand qiān
口mouth kǒu

Where 舌 comes from

A tongue reaching out of an open mouth 口, the forked upper strokes marking its tip. Every character about speaking, tasting and licking keeps it: 话 (speech), 甜 (sweet, tongue plus sweetness), 舔 (to lick).

舌 in Chinese culture

舌头 is the tongue, and like in English it stands for speech itself: 口舌 means a quarrel, and 七嘴八舌 ('seven mouths, eight tongues') is everyone talking at once. 舌战 — a tongue battle — is a debate fought hard.

Example

舌头 shétou — tongue

我咬到舌头了。
Wǒ yǎo dào shétou le.
I bit my tongue.

How to remember it

A TONGUE sticking out of a mouth — the mouth 口 is right there at the bottom.

甜 (sweet) is a tongue 舌 next to 甘 (sweetness) — the taste is written as the organ that tastes it.

Same sound, different tones

奢
1st shē
extravagant
舌
2nd shé
tongue
舍
3rd shě
to give up
社
4th shè
society

Words unlocked by 舌

舌头 shétou
tongue
口舌 kǒushé
a quarrel; words

Related characters

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