喳 (chā) is an onomatopoeia for a brief, sharp chirping or twittering sound, most often associated with birds. In natural speech, it appears as the first element in expressions like 喳喳 (chā chā) for continuous chirping, or in the common compound 叽叽喳喳 (jī jī zhā zhā, often pronounced zhā) for a lively chatter of birds or people talking noisily. The character alone can describe a single chirp (一声喳).