HSK · Level 60
105 words
Chinese word
唾液
Pronunciation
Pinyintuò yè
Meaning
- nounsaliva
Example
不要把唾液吐在地上。bú yào bǎ tuò yè tǔ zài dì shàng
Don't spit saliva on the ground.
More examples
早晨起床后，嘴里常有少量唾液。zǎo chén qǐ chuáng hòu zuí lǐ cháng yǒu shǎo liàng tuò yè
After waking up in the morning, there is often a small amount of saliva in your mouth.
Core concept
A mouth fluid that moistens food, supports swallowing, and helps protect the tissues inside the mouth.
Common phrases
唾液检测tuò yè jiǎn cè
saliva test
口腔内唾液kǒu qiāng nèi tuò yè
saliva in the mouth
唾液量tuò yè liàng
amount of saliva
Similar words
口水kóu shuǐ: Used as a familiar spoken term for saliva in the mouth.
Definition in Chinese
口腔内分泌的液体，主要由水分和酶组成，参与润湿食物、协助吞咽并保护黏膜。kǒu qiāng nèi fēn mì de yè tǐ zhǔ yào yóu shuǐ fèn hé méi zǔ chéng cān yù rùn shī shí wù xié zhù tūn yàn bìng bǎo hù nián mó
Word origin
The compound 唾 (tuò, "spit") + 液 (yè, "liquid") presents saliva as a liquid associated with the mouth rather than as an action.
Usage tips
- English often uses saliva as a mass noun, and Chinese commonly measures it with words such as 一滴唾液 (yì dī tuòyè, "a drop of saliva").
Related words
- 唾液样本tuò yè yàng běnsaliva samplenoun
- 唾液分析tuò yè fēn xīsaliva analysisnoun