How to Write 嘬 (chuài) — Meaning “to suck; to sip”

Imagine you are a baby sucking milk (嘬奶) and your mouth (口) makes the sound "chuài" while you are taking your "most" (最) favorite sip. The right side 最 looks like a straw going into a cup, emphasizing the sucking motion.

The left radical 口 should be small and compact, placed high on the left side. The right side 最 has many strokes: write the top 日 narrow, then the bottom 取 with its horizontal strokes evenly spaced, and be careful not to make the character too wide.

嘬 (chuài) means to suck or sip, while 㕡 (hè) is a rare character meaning a deep valley or to make a sound, and 喿 (zào) means noise or to chirp. Visually, 嘬 uses 最 on the right, 㕡 uses 霍, and 喿 uses three 口 stacked; their meanings and pronunciations are completely distinct.

嘬 is used in informal or dialectal contexts, such as describing babies suckling (嘬奶) or someone pursing their lips to drink (嘬嘴). It is not common in standard Mandarin daily speech but appears in regional dialects or literary descriptions of eating or drinking.

Common words containing 嘬 include: 嘬 (chuài) — to suck; to sip; 嘬奶 (chuài nǎi) — to suckle; to breastfeed; 嘬嘴 (chuài zuǐ) — to purse one's lips; to pucker.