咧 liě to grimace
to grimace; to grin
How to remember 咧: 口 mouth + 列 line up = to grimace. The kids line up for the class photo, and the photographer tells every mouth to open wide and to grimace.
Component breakdown
咧 = 口 mouth + 列 line up
- 口 mouth
- 列 line up
- 歹 bare bones
- 刂 knife
The kids line up for the class photo, and the photographer tells every mouth to open wide and to grimace.
How it is used
- To grin/stretch the mouth wide - 咧嘴 (liězuǐ) to grin, or to grimace: 疼得直咧嘴 grimacing with pain, 咧嘴一笑 to break into a grin.
- 大大咧咧 (dàdaliēliē) = casual and careless, happy-go-lucky (of temperament).
- Describes the mouth pulling sideways - for a smile or a wince.