HSK · Level 43
120 words
Chinese word
口吃
Pronunciation
Pinyinkǒu chī
Meaning
- verbstutter
Example
他说话会口吃，需要多练习。tā shuō huà huì kǒu chī xū yào duō liàn xí
He stutters when speaking and needs more practice.
More examples
他紧张的时候会口吃，需要别人耐心倾听。tā jǐn zhāng de shí hòu huì kǒu chī xū yào bié rén nài xīn qīng tīng
When he is nervous, he stutters, so others need to listen patiently.
Core concept
Words fail to move smoothly through the mouth, stopping briefly or getting repeated or drawn out.
Common phrases
会口吃huì kǒu chī
may stutter
说话时口吃shuō huà shí kǒu chī
stutter while speaking
经常口吃jīng cháng kǒu chī
stutter frequently
Similar words
有吃音yǒu chī yīn: Have a stutter that makes spoken sounds repeat, stretch, or pause.
结巴jiē ba: Get stuck in speech, often repeating a sound before the words continue.
吞吞吐吐tūn tūn tú tǔ: Talk in a hesitant, roundabout way instead of stating things clearly.
磕巴kē bā: Have speech catch or break at sounds, making it difficult to keep talking.
Definition in Chinese
指说话时短暂或持续出现重复、拉长或卡顿，使表达不流畅。zhǐ shuō huà shí duǎn zàn huò chí xù chū xiàn chóng fù lā cháng huò kǎ dùn shǐ biǎo dá bù liú chàng
Word origin
The compound joins 口 (kǒu, "mouth") with 吃 (chī, "eat"), whose older speech-related sense suggests words catching as they come out.
Usage tips
- The word describes how speech sounds, not a person's intelligence, confidence, or effort, so it should not be used as a judgment about the speaker.
Other meanings
- stutteringnoun
Related words
- 口吃症kǒu chī zhèngstuttering disordernoun
- 口吃者kǒu chī zhěperson who stuttersnoun