Chinese word

舌头

Pronunciation

Pinyinshé tou

Meaning

  • nountongue

Example

医生让我伸出舌头检查。yī shēng ràng wǒ shēn chū shé tou jiǎn chá

The doctor asked me to stick out my tongue for an examination.

Illustration for 舌头 (tongue)

More examples

他一紧张就咬住舌头，不敢把心里话说出来。tā yì jǐn zhāng jiù yǎo zhù shé tou bù gǎn bǎ xīn lǐ huà shuō chū lái

When he gets nervous, he bites his tongue and doesn't dare say what's on his mind.

Core concept

A flexible part inside the mouth that tests flavors, shifts food, and shapes spoken sounds.

Common phrases

  • 伸出舌头shēn chū shé tou

    stick out one's tongue

  • 咬住舌头yǎo zhù shé tou

    bite one's tongue

  • 舌头发麻shé tou fā má

    have a numb tongue

Similar words

口kǒu: The facial opening through which people eat, breathe, and speak.
嘴巴zuǐ bā: A casual expression for the part used in everyday eating and speaking.
唇chún: The soft outer folds around the oral opening that help shape speech and keep food inside.
口腔kǒu qiāng: The complete inner space containing the teeth and the tissues involved in tasting and speaking.

Definition in Chinese

口腔中突出的一部分，用来尝味、移动和帮助发音。kǒu qiāng zhōng tū chū de yí bù fèn yòng lái cháng wèi yí dòng hé bāng zhù fā yīn

Word origin

舌头 (shétou, "tongue") combines 舌 (shé, "tongue") with 头 (tou, "head"), where 头 acts as a colloquial noun-forming suffix rather than naming a literal head.

Usage tips

  • In everyday speech, the second syllable is often light, so the word usually has a strong first beat and a shorter second beat.

Related words

  • 舌苔shé tāitongue coatingnoun
  • 舌尖shé jiāntip of the tonguenoun
  • 舌战shé zhànengage in a battle of wordsverb

Word lists with this word