How to Write 齿 (chǐ) — Meaning “tooth”

Imagine an open mouth (the bottom 凵 is like a jaw) with teeth sitting on top – the horizontal line and little 'stops' in 止 look like rows of teeth. This visual links the shape to the meaning "tooth" or "teeth".

Start with the top part 止: write the horizontal stroke first, then the vertical stroke, then the left and right strokes. For the bottom 凵, write the left vertical, then the bottom horizontal, and finally the right vertical – make sure the bottom box is not too wide. A common mistake is making the bottom part too large or writing the inner strokes of 止 incorrectly.

The character 龀 contains 齿 as a component plus 匕 (a spoon or dagger). It means "to grow (first) teeth" or "child's milk teeth," while 齿 alone means "tooth" or "teeth" in general. 龀 is very rare and mostly found in ancient texts, whereas 齿 is common in everyday words like 牙齿 (teeth) and 齿轮 (gear).

齿 appears in common words like 牙齿 (yáchǐ, teeth) and 齿轮 (chǐlún, gear). It also appears in idioms such as 唇亡齿寒 (chún wáng chǐ hán, if lips are gone, teeth will be cold), which describes a close mutual dependency. In some contexts, 齿 can refer to age, as in 齿序 (chǐxù, order by age).

Common words containing 齿 include: 牙齿 (yá chǐ) — tooth / teeth; 齿轮 (chǐ lún) — gear; cogwheel; 启齿 (qǐ chǐ) — to open one's mouth (to speak).