吞 tūn — to swallow; to take
吃东西要细嚼慢咽，不要狼吞虎咽。Chī dōng xi yào xì jiáo màn yàn, bú yào láng tūn hǔ yàn.Chew slowly when eating; do not gobble it down.
Common words: 吞咽 (tūn yàn)、吞没 (tūn mò)、并吞 (bìng tūn)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to swallow"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to swallow", including 吞 (tūn), 咽 (yān / yàn / yè). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to swallow" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 吞 (tūn), 咽 (yān / yàn / yè) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span tūn, yān, yàn, yè — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 吞 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 吞 tūnto swallow; to takeUseful words: 吞咽, 吞没
- 咽 yān / yàn / yènarrow pass; throat; to swallow; to choke (in crying)Useful words: 吞咽, 咽喉
Common words for these 2 "to swallow" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 吞 (tūn) — so "to swallow" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to swallow".
咽 yān / yàn / yè — narrow pass; throat; to swallow; to choke (in crying)
感冒了，他觉得咽喉有点儿疼。Gǎn mào le, tā jué de yān hóu yǒu diǎnr téng.He caught a cold and feels his throat is a bit sore.
Common words: 吞咽 (tūn yàn)、咽喉 (yān hóu)、呜咽 (wū yè)
All 2 characters
Open 吞、咽 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.