咀嚼

jǔ jué

HSK 7–9

Meaning

用牙齿磨碎食物；比喻对事物反复体会、琢磨。

To chew; to mull over; to ruminate.

既用于具体的进食动作，也用于抽象的心理活动，表示反复思考或细细品味。

Used both literally for the act of chewing food and figuratively for pondering or savoring something repeatedly.

1 吃饭时要细嚼慢咽，充分咀嚼食物。(When eating, you should chew slowly and thoroughly, fully masticating the food.)
2 他反复咀嚼着老师的话，终于明白了其中的深意。(He kept mulling over the teacher's words and finally understood the profound meaning.)
3 这部小说值得反复咀嚼，每次读都有新的感悟。(This novel is worth savoring repeatedly; each reading brings new insights.)
4 牛在反刍时会再次咀嚼胃中的食物。(When cows ruminate, they chew the food from their stomach again.)
5 他独自坐在窗前，咀嚼着过去的痛苦回忆。(He sat alone by the window, ruminating on painful memories of the past.)

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