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Kotomora

咀

bite, eat

Strokes8

Readings

On'yomi

  • ソ
  • ショ

Kun'yomi

  • か.む

Meaning

咀 centers on using the mouth to break down food: biting and eating.

Most common words using 咀

  • 咀嚼そしゃく

    chewing; mastication

  • 咀嚼力そしゃくりょく

    chewing power; chewing strength; bite strength; masticatory strength; strength of mastication

  • 咀嚼筋そしゃくきん

    muscle of mastication

  • 咀嚼運動そしゃくうんどう

    mastication

  • 日本咀嚼学会にっぽんそしゃくがっかい

    Japanese Society for Mastication Science and Health Promotion

Explore all words using 咀 →

Study

Etymology

咀 combines 口 (mouth) with 且, which likely contributes the sound and may have originally depicted a pile of offerings, but the exact historical development is uncertain.

Meaning mnemonic

The mouth 口 is next to 且, which looks like a stack of food. Imagine a mouth biting into a pile of stacked food.

Reading mnemonic

For ソ, picture a person biting into a piece of food and saying 'so' good: so -> ソ.