Meaning
舔 means to lick something with the tongue. It describes the action of passing the tongue over a surface, whether it's food, a wound, or an object. It's a straightforward verb used in both literal contexts (like an animal licking its fur) and figurative expressions.
Usage
This is a neutral, everyday verb used in both spoken and written Chinese. It's commonly used to describe animals licking themselves or people licking food items like ice cream. In informal speech, it can appear in phrases like 舔伤口 (to lick one's wounds, meaning to recover from setbacks). The verb takes a direct object indicating what is being licked.
Examples
- 01小狗正在舔自己的爪子。.The puppy is licking its own paws.
- 02他舔了舔嘴唇，看着那块蛋糕。, .He licked his lips, looking at that piece of cake.
Common collocations
- 舔冰淇淋to lick ice cream
- 舔伤口to lick one's wounds (literal or figurative)
- 舔嘴唇to lick one's lips
Origin
The character 舔 combines the tongue radical 舌 (shé, tongue) on the left with the phonetic component 忝 (tiǎn) on the right, directly indicating an action performed with the tongue.