How to Write 咧 (liě) — Meaning “to grin; to open one's mouth”

Think of the left side 口 as an open mouth, and the right side 列 as a row of teeth inside it. Then imagine saying 'Lee' with a huge grin, and you'll remember 咧 means 'to grin'. The shape of 列 even looks like teeth lined up.

First write the left 口 (vertical, horizontal fold, then bottom horizontal). Then write the right 列: horizontal, left-falling, vertical, horizontal fold left-falling with a hook, and finally a right-falling stroke (捺). A common mistake is making the right part too wide or forgetting the hook; keep both sides balanced.

君 (jūn) has 口 on top and 尹 below, meaning 'ruler', while 吝 (lìn) has 口 on top and 文 below, meaning 'stingy'. Visually, 咧 has 口 on the left and 列 on the right. In usage, 咧 is about facial expressions, unlike 君 and 吝 which have unrelated meanings.

咧 appears in common words like 咧嘴 (liě zuǐ, 'to grin or grimace') and 咧开 (liě kāi, 'to open wide'). It often describes happy or painful facial expressions, for example 'he grinned widely' or 'the pain made him grimace'. In some dialects, 咧 can also be a modal particle, but that usage is separate.

Common words containing 咧 include: 咧嘴 (liě zuǐ) — to grin; to grimace; 咧开 (liě kāi) — to open wide (mouth); 咧着嘴 (liě zhe zuǐ) — with a wide grin.