嚜 (me) - An interrogative particle or exclamation in Classical Chinese & also used in modern Chinese as an onomatopoeia

嚜Tone 5

me ｜ 18 strokes ｜ radical:

伦妙

嚜 · me

An interrogative particle or exclamation in Classical Chinese;

also used in modern Chinese as an onomatopoeia or in certain dialects.

An interrogative particle or exclamation in Classical Chinesealso used in modern Chinese as an onomatopoeia

Usage highlights

Question particleChewing soundMumbling soundDialectal completion markerHesitation expressionClassical Chinese interrogative

Synonyms

  • 吗— question particle in modern Chinese
  • 嘛— exclamatory or emphatic particle
  • 嗯— hesitation sound or agreement

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • Used as a question particle in Classical Chinese (嚜, what about it?).
  • The sound of chewing or mumbling (嚜嚜地嚼).
  • An exclamation expressing doubt or hesitation (嚜, I'm not sure).
  • In some dialects, indicates completion or affirmation (做嚜了, it's done).

Collocations

  • Question particle(嚜)
  • Chewing sound(嚜嚜)
  • Mumbling sound(嚜嚜不休)
  • Dialectal completion marker(嚜了)
  • Hesitation expression(嚜...)
  • Classical Chinese interrogative(何嚜)

Idioms

  • Mumbling incessantly(嚜嚜不休)
  • What about it then(何嚜如也)
  • Hesitating and uncertain(犹豫嚜嚜)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Primarily used in Classical Chinese texts as an interrogative or exclamatory particle.
  • In modern usage, often appears as onomatopoeia for chewing or mumbling sounds.
  • Retained in certain regional dialects with grammatical functions.

FAQ