JLPT 2 Kanji: 歯

歯

onyomi: シ
kunyomi: は、よわ(い)、よわい、よわい(する)

TOOTH, teeth, cog

common use: 歯を磨く、to brush one's teeth

ALC
目には目を、歯には歯を
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
-How nice that we can translate that sentiment...

Blogsearch

アメリカ生まれのホワイトニング歯磨き、
「スーパースマイル 」のサンプルが届きました♪

"A sample of the American-made whitening paste 'Supersmile' has found its way into my hands♪"

Compounds

• 歯医者 [はいしゃ]
  (n) dentist
  
• 歯科 [しか]
  (n) dentistry
  
• 歯向う [はむかう] or 歯向かう [はむかう]
  (v5u) to strike back at; to bite back; to turn on; to rise against; to oppose; to defy
  
• 歯止め [はどめ]
  (n) brake
  
• 歯車 [はぐるま]
  (n) gear; cog-wheel
  
• 歯切れ [はぎれ]
  (n) the feel when biting; manner of enunciation
  
• 歯痒い [はがゆい]
  (adj) impatient; tantalized; chagrined; vexed
  
• 虫歯 [むしば]
  (n) cavity; tooth decay; decayed tooth
  

Some of these are really interesting. A cavity is a bug in the teeth (虫歯). The feel of biting into something (歯切れ) must be one of those senses that the Japanese passionately enjoy about eating.

I need more detail on some of these.

向かう means face, go towards. So, facing with teeth is a strike back? A blogsearch got me here:

歯向かうのとは違うけど、従順であることをやめる。

"It's not really that I'm striking back, but I am ceasing to be obedient." [TN: This blog looks really personal...]

歯切れ looks like a good vocab word for speaking about your 発音 (pronunciation). From ALC:

歯切れが悪い - being unclear, slurring one's words [what we do]

歯切れの良い話し方 - articulate way of speaking [what we aspire to do]

Okay, that'll do it for a first JLPT 2 post.