咧嘴

• Pinyin: liě zuǐ
• Hanzi breakdown: 咧 = 口 + 列 (mouth stretched apart/split — lips pulled to the sides); 嘴 = 口 + 觜 (mouth — the primary facial feature for expression and speech)

Meaning

To grin; to grimace; to open one's mouth wide. Describes a facial expression where the mouth stretches wide, indicating either a broad smile or a pained grimace.

Context determines whether 咧嘴 expresses joy or pain. 咧嘴笑 means to grin broadly with delight; 咧嘴哭 or 咧嘴直哼 suggests a grimace of pain or distress. The term captures a vivid, uninhibited expression — the mouth pulled wide. Used in descriptive and narrative writing to convey strong emotional or physical reactions.

Examples

1. 孩子收到新玩具后立刻咧嘴笑了起来，兴奋之情溢于言表。 As soon as the child received the new toy, he broke into a big grin, his excitement obvious.
2. 医生为他清洗伤口时，他疼得直咧嘴，却强忍着没有出声。 When the doctor cleaned his wound, he grimaced in pain but held it in without making a sound.
3. 老人看到久别的孙子向自己跑来，不由自主地咧嘴笑出了声。 When the elderly man saw his grandson, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, running toward him, he couldn’t help grinning and laughing.

Usage Guide

Context: descriptive writing, emotional expression, physical reaction

Tone: vivid

Do Say

• 她一看到成绩单上的满分，顿时咧嘴笑开了，整个人都雀跃起来。(The moment she saw the perfect score on her report card, she broke into a wide grin and her whole being lit up with joy.)
• 刚才还强装镇定的他，终于在观众面前咧嘴承认输了这场赌注。(Having been feigning calm just moments before, he finally grinned and admitted in front of the audience that he had lost the bet.)

Don't Say

• 在正式书面语中频繁使用'咧嘴' — 该词偏向生动的口语描写，正式场合描述表情应用'微笑'或'露出笑容'

Origin & History

咧 (to split/to stretch — the mouth opening sideways) + 嘴 (mouth — the organ of expression)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal