In Mandarin Chinese, 口 (Pinyin: kǒu 🔊) means “mouth”, “entrance”, “opening”, “hole” and so forth. This word is often used in combinations, for example: 火山 (huǒshān) “volcano” + 口 = 火山口 (huǒshānkǒu) “crater”.
Historical forms of this character look more like drawings of mouth with a tongue sticking out, or a big smile, while Ponte Ryūrui points out that the original meaning of 口 could have been “a ritual vessel or container and not a mouth”.
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