狗窦大开 — “Refers to a wide gap in one's teeth”

Q: What is the Chinese definition of 狗窦大开?

狗窦：狗洞。嘲笑人缺牙齿

狗窦大开 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “refers to a wide gap in one's teeth”. Especially due to missing front teeth, often used humorously or to mock someone's appearance. Literally, “A dog hole wide open”.

Frequency

狗窦大开 Pronunciation and Pinyin

狗窦大开 Character Breakdown

Stroke Order

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
狗	gǒu	8	dog
窦	dòu	13	cavity or sinus
大	dà	3	large, big, great
开	kāi	4	open, start, operate

Example Sentence with 狗窦大开

老王年纪大了，前门牙掉了好几颗，每次一笑都狗窦大开

Old Wang is getting on in years; he's lost several front teeth, so every time he smiles, it's like a wide gap in his mouth.

Origin and Story of 狗窦大开

During the Jin Dynasty, there was a man named Zhang Xuan, whose courtesy name was Wuxing. When he was eight years old, he had lost some of his teeth, leaving noticeable gaps.

Someone jokingly asked him, "How come you have a 'dog hole' here?" (referring to his missing teeth). Zhang Xuan, without a moment's hesitation, cleverly retorted, "It is precisely for gentlemen like yourselves to enter and exit through." This witty reply made everyone present burst into laughter.