口

kǒu

mouth

classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc); classifier for bites or mouthfuls

a picture of 口 → an open mouth

Oracle bone script drew it as a simple open rectangle, mimicking the shape of an open mouth. The same word extends naturally to anything with an opening — a well, a cannon, a person counted by their mouths to feed.

冂+一→口

Words with 口

报户口

bào hù kǒu

to apply for residence

袖口

xiù kǒu

cuff

通商口岸

tōng shāng kǒu àn

treaty port, forced on Qing China by the 19th century Great Powers

通风口

tōng fēng kǒu

air vent

逞其口舌

chěng qí kǒu shé

to boast of one's quarrels to others (idiom)

进出口

jìn chū kǒu

importation and exportation; import-export

进口

jìn kǒu

to import

进口商

jìn kǒu shāng

importer

裂口

liè kǒu

breach

进水口

jìn shuǐ kǒu

water inlet

还口

huán kǒu

to retort

重口味

zhòng kǒu wèi

strong flavor (spicy, salty etc)

More characters with 冂

册冈南冉囗円