口
kǒu
Eating, drinking, calling, asking — all the same square hole
The picture An open mouth cut as a square hole beside the character. 口 is the open mouth-hole itself, 讠 is the speech that has already flowed out of it.
Where the picture shows up in 口
-
the mouth takes in
我们一起吃饭吧。
wǒmen yìqǐ chī fàn ba
Let's eat together.
An open mouth receiving a bite of rice and closing again
-
the mouth draws in
您要喝点什么?
nín yào hē diǎn shénme
Would you like something to drink?
A mouth fitted to the rim of a cup, pulling the water in
-
the mouth throws sound
老板在那边叫你。
lǎobǎn zài nàbiān jiào nǐ
The boss is calling you from over there.
Sound flying out of an open mouth all the way across the room
-
the mouth draws sound out long
她唱得很好听。
tā chàng de hěn hǎotīng
She sings beautifully.
A mouth rounded open, sound coming out in one unbroken line
-
the mouth left at the end
你是新来的吗?
nǐ shì xīn lái de ma
Are you the new one here?
A small mouth tacked onto the end of a sentence, tilting it upward
All of it in one picture
口 is one open mouth. Let it take something in and you get eating; let it suck and you get drinking. Throw sound out of it and you get calling, draw the sound out long and you get singing, leave it at the end of a sentence and it tips the sentence up into a question.