kěn

to gnaw

to nibble; to bite

mouth (口) + sound (肯) = to gnaw with the mouth

The mouth radical (口) drives the meaning here — gnawing is an action of the mouth, often slow and deliberate. 肯 contributes the sound kěn and carries no semantic load in this character.

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MouthSemantic
WillingPhonetic

狗在一根骨头。

gǒu zài kěn yī gēn gǔ tou。

The dog is gnawing on a bone.

她慢慢地着玉米,吃得很开心。

tā màn màn de kěn zhe yù mǐ,chī de hěn kāi xīn。

She nibbled on the corn slowly, eating very happily.

Words with 啃

啃书

kěn shū

lit. to gnaw a book

啃老

kěn lǎo

(coll.) to live with and depend on one's parents even upon reaching adulthood

啃老族

kěn lǎo zú

(coll.) adults still living with and depending on their parents

嘴啃泥

zuǐ kěn ní

to fall flat on one's face

More characters with 口