Chinese word

顶嘴

Pronunciation

Pinyindǐng zuǐ

Meaning

  • verbtalk back

Example

别跟妈妈顶嘴，好好听话。bié gēn mā mā díng zuǐ háo hǎo tīng huà

Don't talk back to Mom; listen and do as you're told.

Illustration for 顶嘴 (talk back)

More examples

上课时不要跟老师顶嘴，先听完再说。shàng kè shí bú yào gēn lǎo shī díng zuǐ xiān tīng wán zài shuō

In class, do not talk back to the teacher; listen until the teacher has finished speaking, then respond.

Core concept

Speech that meets another person's words with a challenging pushback, especially in a personal or informal exchange.

Common phrases

  • 跟老师顶嘴gēn lǎo shī díng zuǐ

    talk back to the teacher

  • 跟父母顶嘴gēn fù mǔ díng zuǐ

    talk back to one's parents

Similar words

反驳fǎn bó: Rejecting another person's view by pointing to reasons or facts.
插嘴chā zuǐ: Speaking up while someone else is still talking.
回嘴huí zuǐ: Retorting briefly to what someone has just said.
顶撞dǐng zhuàng: Talking back rudely and defiantly to an older or higher-ranking person.

Definition in Chinese

口头上回击对方的话语，带有不服或挑衅的语气，常见于家庭等非正式场景。kǒu tóu shàng huí jī duì fāng de huà yǔ dài yǒu bù fú huò tiǎo xìn de yǔ qì cháng jiàn yú jiā tíng děng fēi zhèng shì cháng jǐng

Word origin

The compound joins 顶 (dǐng, "push against") with 嘴 (zuǐ, "mouth"), framing a spoken reply as a push against another person's words.

Usage tips

  • A calm disagreement does not automatically carry this label, because the word draws attention to a reply that sounds defiant toward the person speaking.

Other meanings

  • contradictverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word