咽 meaning and stroke order
To swallow
How to write 咽, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 咽
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to swallow
- variant of 嚥|咽[yan4]
- throat; pharynx
- narrow pass
- to choke (in crying)
How 咽 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 因 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 咽
咽 combines 口 (mouth) with 因 (yīn), which gives the sound. Picture food going from the mouth 口 down through a narrow passage, the throat, where you swallow it.
咽 has three readings. It is yān in the noun 咽喉 (yānhóu, throat), yàn in verbs of swallowing like 咽下 (yànxià), and yè in words about choking with tears like 哽咽 (gěngyè). Example: 他把药咽下去了。(Tā bǎ yào yàn xiàqù le.) He swallowed the medicine.
Common mistake: Learners often read every 咽 as yàn. In 咽喉 it is yān and in 呜咽 or 哽咽 it is yè. Also do not confuse it with 烟 (yān, smoke), which shares the 因 part but has 火 on the left.
Common words with 咽
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
咽 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 咽
How many strokes are in 咽?
咽 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 咽 mean?
咽 (yàn) means to swallow. A common word with it is 呜咽 (wūyè), meaning "to sob; to whimper".
How do you pronounce 咽?
咽 is pronounced yàn, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 咽?
The radical of 咽 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 咽 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 咽?
The traditional form of 咽 is 嚥. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 咽 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 咽 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 咽 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I know which pronunciation of 咽 to use?
Use the meaning as a guide. If it means the throat as a body part, say yān. If it means swallowing, say yàn. If it means sobbing or a voice breaking with emotion, say yè.
What does 狼吞虎咽 mean and when is it used?
狼吞虎咽 (lángtūnhǔyàn) literally means to swallow like a wolf and a tiger. It describes eating very fast and greedily, for example a hungry child finishing a meal in seconds. It is common in everyday speech and is often slightly humorous.