咀

A phono-semantic compound composed of:

口 (mouth) — semantic component, indicates an action performed with the mouth, leading to the meaning “to chew.”

且 — phonetic component supplying the sound (저 / jǔ).

Semantic development:

- to chew food;

- to grind food with the teeth;

- figuratively: to ponder or process something carefully.

Thus the meaning expanded from physical chewing to mental digestion of ideas.

저작 (咀嚼) — mastication; chewing

咀 emphasizes the act of chewing food in the mouth.

Related characters:

嚼 — to chew; grind with teeth

食 — to eat

噛 — to bite

The compound 咀嚼 is widely used in East Asian languages both literally (to chew) and figuratively (to reflect deeply on something).