口香糖
kǒuxiāngtáng
The English phrase "gum" translates to Chinese as 口香糖 (kǒuxiāngtáng).
The term 口香糖 refers to a single piece of chewing gum (noun).
Meaning: single piece of chewing gum (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 口香糖 is a compound of three parts: 口 (mouth), 香 (fragrant/scented) and 糖 (sugar/candy).
How does it change in a sentence?
As a noun, 口香糖 is friendly to classifiers. You can use 块 (kuài) for a single piece or 粒 (lì) for a small, pellet-sized piece.
How do you pronounce it?
kǒuxiāngtáng
Did you know?
- In some professional settings in China, chewing 口香糖 during a meeting is seen as a sign of nervousness or a lack of confidence rather than just a habit.
- While 口香糖 literally means 'fragrant mouth sugar', some people colloquially refer to it as 口香胶, replacing 'sugar' with 'glue'.
- The word 口 in 口香糖 is a radical that appears in hundreds of other Chinese characters related to eating, tasting or speaking.
Examples in context
- 我嚼口香糖。I chew gum.Tatoeba #9956903 by GlossaMatik, translation #2528462 by BoriQa
- 她在嚼口香糖，是吗？She's chewing gum, isn't she?Tatoeba #8969799 by WilsonWong, translation #8527141 by CH
- 汤姆的鞋底粘了口香糖。There was some chewing gum on the sole of Tom's shoe.Tatoeba #8673761 by crescat, translation #10626015 by sundown
- 医生说我的牙龈有点肿痛。The dentist said my gums are a little swollen and painful.
- 4 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are sitting in a park.
- 伟 Wei梓涵，你有口香糖吗？Zǐhán, nǐ yǒu kǒuxiāngtáng ma?Zihan, do you have any chewing gum?
- 梓涵 Zihan我只有一块口香糖。Wǒ zhǐyǒu yī kuài kǒuxiāngtáng.I only have one piece of chewing gum.
- 伟 Wei给我那块口香糖吧。Gěi wǒ nà kuài kǒuxiāngtáng ba.Give me that piece of chewing gum.
- 梓涵 Zihan好的，给你。Hǎo de, gěi nǐ.Okay, here you go.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “gum” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
