Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

to breathe; to suck in; to absorb; to inhale

Chinese: 吸气、吸入;也表示吸引。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “xi” becomes a different word in each tone. 吸 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 吸引xī yǐnto attract; to appeal to; to fascinate
  • 呼吸hū xīto breathe
  • 吸收xī shōuto absorb; to assimilate; to ingest; to recruit
  • 吸烟xī yānto smoke
  • 吸管xī guǎn(drinking) straw; pipette; eyedropper; snorkel

Example Sentence

海绵能吸很多水。Hǎi mián néng xī hěn duō shuǐ.A sponge can absorb a lot of water.

海绵Hǎi mián(zoology) sea spongenéngcanto breathehěnveryduōmanyshuǐShui ethnic group