Pout Character

It describes a closed-mouth pout, with the lips pushed forward.

In 噘嘴, the character names a pouting gesture. It can suggest a sulk or displeasure; the surrounding words tell you whether the tone is teasing or annoyed.

Is 噘嘴 different from 撅嘴?

They name the same pout, but spelling recommendations changed.

The Kangxi Dictionary, an older Chinese character dictionary, has no separate headword for 噘; later dictionaries connect it with 撅, whose older senses include “raise” or “stick out.” A 1768 edition of the Chinese book Feilong zhuan (飞龙传) uses 把嘴一噘 (“pursed the lips”), so the gesture was written with 噘 long before modern spelling standards.

The recommendation shifted: a 1955 variant list preferred 撅嘴 and marked 噘嘴 non-standard; the 2013 General Standard Chinese Character List made 噘 standard for this mouth action. Someone writing 撅嘴 may be following the older recommendation, not naming another gesture.

When does 噘 mean “scold”?

Only 噘人 has the recorded dialectal “scold” sense.

As of 2026, some dictionaries record 噘人 as a dialectal verb meaning “to scold someone.” The phrase is the clue; in 噘嘴, the reading remains a pout.