吞 meaning and stroke order
To swallow; to take
How to write 吞, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
Meaning of 吞
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to swallow
- to take
How 吞 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 天 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 吞
吞 is 天 (tiān, sky) sitting on top of 口 (kǒu, mouth). Picture a mouth so huge it could swallow the whole sky, and 天 also hints at the sound tūn.
吞 means to swallow something whole without much chewing, and it extends to swallowing up land, money, or feelings. It appears in words like 吞并 (tūnbìng, to annex) and 吞没 (tūnmò, to embezzle; to swallow up). Example: 他把药一口吞了下去。(Tā bǎ yào yì kǒu tūn le xiàqù.) He swallowed the pill in one gulp.
Common mistake: Learners often write the top part as 夭 (yāo) or 大 (dà) instead of 天. The top must have two horizontal strokes like 天. Also keep the first tone: tūn, not tún or tǔn.
Common words with 吞
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 吞噬 | tūnshì | to swallow; to engulf | |
| 吞没 | tūnmò | to embezzle; to swallow up | |
| 慢吞吞 | màntūntūn | very slow; exasperatingly slow | |
| 吞食 | tūnshí | to devour | |
| 独吞 | dútūn | to hog; to keep everything for oneself | |
| 狼吞虎咽 | lángtūnhǔyàn | to wolf down one's food (idiom); to devour ravenously; to gorge oneself | |
| 忍气吞声 | rěnqìtūnshēng | to submit to humiliation (idiom); to suffer in silence; to swallow one's anger | |
| 吞并 | tūnbìng | to annex |
吞 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 吞
How many strokes are in 吞?
吞 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 吞 mean?
吞 (tūn) means to swallow; to take. A common word with it is 吞噬 (tūnshì), meaning "to swallow; to engulf".
How do you pronounce 吞?
吞 is pronounced tūn, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 吞?
The radical of 吞 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 吞 under this radical.
Is 吞 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 吞 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 吞 and 咽 (yàn)?
吞 stresses swallowing something whole or quickly, often a large amount. 咽 is the ordinary act of swallowing down food or saliva. They combine in the idiom 狼吞虎咽 (lángtūnhǔyàn), to wolf down food.
What does 慢吞吞 (màntūntūn) mean, and how is it used?
It describes someone doing things very slowly, usually in an annoying way. It often comes before 的 or 地, as in 他慢吞吞地走过来 (tā màntūntūn de zǒu guòlái), he walked over very slowly.