Definition
虎口 literally means 'tiger's mouth' and has two distinct noun senses. The first is anatomical: the webbing between your thumb and index finger (the 'tiger's mouth' shape when you open your hand). The second is figurative: a dangerous situation or 'jaws of death,' often used in idioms like 虎口逃生 (escape from danger) and 虎口拔牙 (to beard the lion in his den). Context tells you which sense is intended.
n.
webbing between the thumb and index fingerjaws of deatha very dangerous situation
Examples
- 虎口。hǔ de wèizhi zài mǔzhǐ hé shízhǐ zhījiān.The webbing is between the thumb and index finger.
- 虎口。Tā zhè cì zhēnshì hǔ táoshēng.He really escaped from the jaws of death this time.
- 虎口，。Cóng hǔ lǐ bá yá, tài wēixiǎn le.Pulling a tooth from the tiger's mouth is too dangerous.
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