脷 (lì) - Tongue — specifically refers to the tongue of & in Cantonese vernacular, also used to mean 'tongue'

脷Tone 4

lì ｜ 11 strokes ｜ radical:

俊梁

脷 · lì

Tongue — specifically refers to the tongue of animals, particularly used in Cantonese for animal tongues as food;

in Cantonese vernacular, also used to mean 'tongue' in general.

Tongue — specifically refers to the tongue ofin Cantonese vernacular, also used to mean 'tongue'

Usage highlights

Beef tonguePork tongueDuck tongueGoose tongueChicken tongueLingual

Synonyms

  • 舌— tongue (Standard Mandarin)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • Beef tongue is a delicacy (牛脷).
  • Pork tongue is used in some dishes (猪脷).
  • In Cantonese, 'tongue' is called 脷 (脷).
  • Duck tongue appetizer (鸭脷).

Collocations

  • Beef tongue(牛脷)
  • Pork tongue(猪脷)
  • Duck tongue(鸭脷)
  • Goose tongue(鹅脷)
  • Chicken tongue(鸡脷)
  • Lingual(脷的)

Idioms

  • Sharp tongue(利脷)
  • Tongue-tied(脷打结)
  • Sweet tongue(甜脷)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Primarily used in Cantonese dialect and culinary contexts for animal tongues.
  • In Cantonese, 脷 is the common word for 'tongue', whereas Standard Mandarin uses 舌.
  • The character contains the meat/body part radical 月 (肉), indicating its relation to animal anatomy.

FAQ