How to Write 龇 (zī) — Meaning “to show one's teeth; to bare teeth”

Picture a person saying "zee" (like zī) while showing all their teeth in a grimace. The left side 齿 looks like a row of teeth, and the right side 此 resembles a mouth opening wide. Combine these images to remember "teeth + open mouth = baring teeth."

Pay attention to the left radical 齿: it has seven strokes and ends with a small hook-like stroke. On the right, 此 must be written with the left part (止) narrower than the right part (匕). A common mistake is making the right side too wide or forgetting the tiny hook on 齿.

龇 means to bare one's teeth, often aggressively or in pain. 龃 (jǔ) appears in 龃龉 meaning "to disagree" or "to clash," and does not show teeth. 龄 (líng) means "age" and uses the same radical but with a different phonetic (令). Visually, 龇 has 此 on the right, 龃 has 且, and 龄 has 令.

龇 appears in expressions like 龇牙 (baring teeth) and 龇牙咧嘴 (grimacing in pain or anger). It is not a common standalone character but is used in vivid descriptions of facial expressions, especially when someone is in pain, angry, or making a fierce face. You might see it in stories or idioms to describe a snarl.

Common words containing 龇 include: 龇牙 (zī yá) — to bare one's teeth; 龇牙咧嘴 (zī yá liě zuǐ) — to grimace in pain; to bare one's teeth and make a face; 龇着牙 (zī zhe yá) — baring one's teeth.