呛 meaning and stroke order
To choke (because of swallowing the wrong way)
How to write 呛, 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 呛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to choke (because of swallowing the wrong way)
- to irritate the nose
- to choke (of smoke, smell etc)
- pungent
- (coll.) (Tw) to shout at sb
- to scold
- to speak out against sb
How 呛 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 仓 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 呛
The mouth 口 on the left tells you this is about the throat, and 仓 (cāng) on the right gives the sound qiāng. Picture smoke rushing into your mouth 口 and making you cough.
Read qiāng when food or water goes down the wrong way, and qiàng when smoke or a strong smell irritates your nose or throat. 我喝水呛着了 (wǒ hē shuǐ qiāng zhe le) means I choked on some water. The common word 够呛 (gòuqiàng) means something is really hard to bear.
Common mistake: Learners often use one tone for every meaning. Choking on a drink is qiāng, but irritation from smoke or a pungent smell, and the qiàng in 够呛, are fourth tone. Also do not confuse 呛 with 抢 (qiǎng, to grab), which has the hand radical 扌 instead of 口.
Common words with 呛
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 够呛 | gòuqiàng | unbearable; terrible | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 呛
How many strokes are in 呛?
呛 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 呛 mean?
呛 (qiāng) means to choke (because of swallowing the wrong way). A common word with it is 够呛 (gòuqiàng), meaning "unbearable; terrible".
How do you pronounce 呛?
呛 is pronounced qiāng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 呛?
The radical of 呛 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 呛 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 呛?
The traditional form of 呛 is 嗆. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 呛 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 呛 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 呛 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say the smoke is choking me in Chinese?
You can say 烟太呛了 (yān tài qiàng le), meaning the smoke is too choking. The same pattern works for strong smells, such as 辣椒很呛 (làjiāo hěn qiàng), meaning the chili is pungent.
What does 呛 mean in Taiwanese slang?
In Taiwan, 呛 (qiàng) is used colloquially to mean shouting at someone or speaking out against them, as in 呛声 (qiàngshēng), to heckle or call someone out. This use is less common in mainland speech.