dīng

to sting or bite (of mosquito, bee etc)

to say repeatedly; to urge insistently; to ask repeatedly; to stick to a point; (onom.) tinkling or jingling sound

mouth (口) + nail (丁) = a sharp, piercing sound or bite

The mouth radical grounds the character in sounds and speech acts — stinging words, repeated urging, or a sharp tinkling noise. 丁 gives the dīng sound; its nail-like sharpness is a happy bonus for picturing a sting or insistent poke.

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A nailPhonetic
MouthSemantic

妈妈嘱我出门前要关好窗户。

māma dīngzhǔ wǒ chūmén qián yào guān hǎo chuānghù。

Mom reminded me repeatedly to close the windows before going out.

老师临走前再三嘱我们要认真复习。

lǎoshī lín zǒu qián zàisān dīngzhǔ wǒmen yào rènzhēn fùxí。

Before leaving, the teacher urged us again and again to review carefully.

Words with 叮

响叮当

xiǎng dīng dāng

to tinkle

千叮万嘱

qiān dīng wàn zhǔ

repeatedly urging

半瓶水响叮当

bàn píng shuǐ xiǎng dīng dāng

lit. if you tap a half-empty bottle it makes a sound (idiom)

叮叮

dīng dīng

(onom.) tinkling or jingling sound

叮叮当当

dīng dīng dāng dāng

(onom.) ding dong

叮叮猫

dīng dīng māo

(dialect) dragonfly

叮咚

dīng dōng

(onom.) ding dong

叮咬

dīng yǎo

sting

叮问

dīng wèn

to question closely

叮当

dīng dāng

(onom.) ding dong

叮当声

dīng dāng shēng

tinkle

叮当响

dīng dāng xiǎng

(onom.) ding dong

More characters with 口