How to Write 啐 (cuì) — Meaning “To spit; to scoff at.”

Imagine a soldier (卒) who suddenly turns his mouth (口) and spits in disgust. The sound "cuì" can remind you of "quick spit," since the character is used for a short, sharp action. Picture the soldier saying "Cut!" (like cuì) as he spits to show he is done with a conversation.

The left radical 口 should be small and placed high, taking about one-third of the width. The right part 卒 has a balanced structure: the top strokes (亠) should not be too wide, and the bottom two 人-like shapes must be centered. A common mistake is making the 口 too big or the 卒 too narrow, which makes the character look lopsided.

啐 (cuì) means to spit or scoff, focusing on a mouth action with contempt. 呲 (cī/zī) means to reprimand or expose teeth, often used in 呲牙 (grin). 咠 (qì) is rarely used alone and means to whisper or chatter; it has two mouths (口口) on top of 耳 (ear), showing people whispering into ears. Visually, 啐 has 卒 on the right, while 呲 has 此 (this) and 咠 has 耳 (ear) inside multiple mouths.

啐 is an informal, somewhat coarse character used to describe spitting as a gesture of disdain, for example in 啐了一口 (spit once). It can also appear in 啐骂 (spit and curse) when someone shows strong contempt. In Chinese culture, spitting in public is considered rude, so the character carries a negative, dismissive tone and is not used in polite conversation.

Common words containing 啐 include: 啐了一口 (cuì le yī kǒu) — Spat once.; 啐骂 (cuì mà) — To spit and curse.; 啐唾沫 (cuì tuò mò) — To spit..