叼

• Pinyin: diāo
• Hanzi breakdown: 叼 = 口 (mouth) + 刁 (hook; implies gripping something in the mouth like a hook)

Meaning

To hold something in the mouth; to grip or clench an object between the teeth without swallowing.

Typically describes animals or people holding objects loosely in the mouth — a dog 叼 a bone, a cat 叼 a kitten by the scruff, a person 叼 a cigarette. Evokes a casual, visual image. More colloquial and vivid than 含.

Examples

1. 那只猎狗兴奋地叼着刚捡回来的木棍，摇着尾巴跑向主人，期待着得到夸奖。 The hunting dog excitedly held the stick it had just retrieved in its mouth, wagging its tail as it ran to its owner, hoping for praise.
2. 他漫不经心地叼着一根未点燃的烟，靠在墙边若有所思地打量着街道上来往的行人。 He casually clenched an unlit cigarette between his teeth, leaning against the wall and studying the pedestrians on the street in thought.
3. 母猫轻柔地叼起小猫的后颈皮，将它从危险的角落转移到安全温暖的窝巢之中。 The mother cat gently picked up the kitten by the scruff and moved it from a dangerous corner to a safe, warm nest.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday speech, description, animals

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 他嘴里叼着一根草茎，悠闲地躺在树荫下打盹，完全不在意外面的喧嚣世界。(He lay lazily in the shade with a grass stalk in his mouth, dozing, completely unbothered by the noisy world outside.)
• 那只麻雀叼着一根细树枝飞回巢中，认真地编织着属于自己的小小家园。(The sparrow flew back to its nest with a thin twig in its bill, diligently weaving its own little home.)

Don't Say

• 我叼着食物吃 — use 咬 or 含 for holding food in the mouth; 叼 implies gripping without consuming, not the act of eating

Origin & History

叼 = 口 (mouth) + 刁 (hook-like, cunning); pictographic — holding something in the mouth like gripping with a hook

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal