吸 meaning in English

xī

to breathe; to suck in

HSK 4verb6 strokes

Meaning of 吸

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

xī

to breathe
to suck in
to absorb
to inhale

How to use 吸

吸 (xī) usually appears in compound words like 呼吸 (hūxī, to breathe), 吸引 (xīyǐn, to attract) and 吸收 (xīshōu, to absorb). On its own it often means to inhale or suck something in, as in 深吸一口气 (shēn xī yì kǒu qì), take a deep breath. You will also see it on signs: 请勿吸烟 (qǐng wù xīyān), please do not smoke.

吸 (xī) is made of 口 (kǒu, mouth) on the left and 及 (jí) on the right, which also hints at the sound. Picture a mouth pulling air or liquid in until it reaches (及) inside you.

Common mistake: Learners often mix up 吸 (xī, to breathe in) with 呼 (hū, to breathe out). In 呼吸 (hūxī) the order is out, then in. Also watch the right side: it is 及 (jí), not 乃 (nǎi), so do not leave out its final sweeping stroke.

吸 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

汤tāng姆mǔ相xiāng信xìn吸xī血xuè鬼guǐ的de存cún在zài。

Tom believes in vampires.

我wǒ们men开kāi始shǐ了le一yí个gè反fǎn对duì吸xī烟yān运yùn动dòng。

We started a campaign against smoking.

我wǒ无wú法fǎ让ràng他tā停tíng止zhǐ吸xī烟yān。

I couldn't get him to stop smoking.

吸xī一yì口kǒu气qì，妈mā的de！

Breathe, damn you!

萨sà米mǐ已yǐ经jīng六liù个gè月yuè没méi有yǒu吸xī食shí大dà麻má了le。

Sami stopped smoking weed for six months.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

吸 xī · to breathe · 6 strokes

Related words

Words that share a character with 吸.

呼吸	hūxī	to breathe
吸引	xīyǐn	to attract; to appeal to; to fascinate
吸烟	xīyān	to smoke
吸收	xīshōu	to absorb; to assimilate
吸管	xīguǎn	(drinking) straw; pipette
吸毒	xīdú	to take drugs
吸取	xīqǔ	to absorb; to draw (a lesson, insight etc)
吸纳	xīnà	to take in; to absorb
吸血鬼	xīxuèguǐ	leech; bloodsucking vermin
深呼吸	shēnhūxī	to take a deep breath
吸引力	xīyǐnlì	attractive force (such as gravitation); sex appeal
吸气	xīqì	to inhale; to breathe in

Questions about 吸

What does 吸 mean?

吸 (xī) means "to breathe; to suck in" and is used as a verb.

How do you write 吸?

吸 is made of 1 character: 吸 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.

Is 吸 an HSK word?

Yes. 吸 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

What is the difference between 吸烟 and 抽烟?

Both mean to smoke. 吸烟 (xīyān) is more formal and appears on signs and in official language. 抽烟 (chōuyān) is what people usually say in everyday conversation.

Can 吸引 be used for people as well as things?

Yes. 吸引 (xīyǐn) works for people, places and ideas, for example 他被这本书吸引了 (tā bèi zhè běn shū xīyǐn le), he was drawn in by this book. The adjective form 有吸引力 (yǒu xīyǐnlì) means attractive or appealing.