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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

牙

yá
tooth (Classifier: 顆／颗 m; 隻／只 m c; 棚 c)
  • HSK 4
  • TOCFL 5
  • radical 牙
  • 4 strokes

Etymology graph

  • inherited
  • borrowed
  • derived
  • parts
  • meaning component
  • sound component
  • related
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Origin

The pictogram of a pair of elephant tusks. According to Xu Shen, this pictogram was used to indicate human molars but not front teeth/incisors (齒).

Norman and Mei (1976) propose that this was a substrate loan; cf. Proto-Vietic *ŋaː (“ivory”) (Vietnamese ngà), Proto-Tai *ŋaːᴬ (“tusk; ivory”) (Thai งา (ngaa)). Pulleyblank (1983) disagrees with their hypothesis and considers Old Chinese to be the donor of this Wanderwort instead.

STEDT provisionally sets up Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-ŋja (“tusk; tooth”), comparing it to Mizo ngho (“tusk; fang”), Manipuri ꯌꯥ (yā, “tooth”), Mru [script needed] (hngou, “tooth”), Pa'o Karen [script needed] (tə́ʔ ŋà, “tooth”).

; Hong Kong Cantonese neologism prefix

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • partChinese丅
  • inheritedProto-Sino-Tibetan*s-ŋja “tusk; tooth”
  • partChinese一 “one”
  • partChinese亅 “a backward hook”
  • partChinese丿 “left-falling stroke, usually read as 撇”

Related: Proto-Vietic *ŋaː, Vietnamese ngà, Proto-Tai *ŋaːᴬ, Thai งา, Mizo ngho, Manipuri ꯌꯥ

Words built on it: 穿, 與

Meanings

character
  1. tooth (Classifier: 顆／颗 m; 隻／只 m c; 棚 c)
  2. ivory; tusk of elephant
  3. screw thread
  4. to bite
  5. Prefix used in front of the surname or last character of someone’s given name to express familiarity or friendliness.
  6. broker

Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字

牙：牡齒也。象上下相錯之形。凡牙之屬皆从牙。

Xu Shen, c. 100 CE — the first analytical dictionary of Chinese characters.

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 人和動物口腔內咀嚼研磨的器官。有時專指臼齒部分。 例：門牙、張牙舞爪、咬牙切齒　△牙齒
  2. 買賣時居中的介紹人。 例：牙人、牙婆、牙行

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

How 牙 was written 字形演變

  1. 牙 in Bronze script
    Bronze
    金文
    Shang–Zhou
  2. 牙 in Chu slips & silk script
    Chu slips & silk
    楚系簡帛
    Warring States
  3. 牙 in Small seal script
    Small seal
    說文小篆
    Shuowen, c. 100 CE
  4. 牙 in Regular script
    Regular
    楷書
    since c. 200 CE

Historical forms collected by the legacy etymfun dataset; most characters have several attested variants.

Sources

  • Structural decomposition (chaizi) — See upstream
  • Historical glyph forms (zdic.net 字形演变) — Rights unverified
  • HSK / TOCFL word lists — Facts (levels)
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • 說文解字 Shuowen Jiezi (Xu Shen, c. 100 CE) — Public domain
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Wiktionary: 牙