Meaning of 呼吸
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to breathe
How to use 呼吸
呼吸 is used as a verb for breathing and also as a noun for breath or respiration. It often appears in phrases like 深呼吸 (shēn hūxī, deep breath) and 呼吸新鲜空气 (breathe fresh air). Example: 请深呼吸。(Qǐng shēn hūxī.) Please take a deep breath.
Both characters have the mouth radical 口 on the left, because breathing happens through the mouth. 呼 (hū) means to breathe out and 吸 (xī) means to breathe in, so 呼吸 is the full cycle of out and in.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes reverse the order and say 吸呼, but the standard word is always 呼吸, out before in. Also keep both syllables in the first tone, hū and xī, and do not drop 吸 into a falling tone.
呼吸 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
呼 hū · to breathe · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
吸 xī · to breathe · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 呼吸.
| 吸引 | xīyǐn | to attract; to appeal to; to fascinate |
| 招呼 | zhāohu | to call out to; to greet |
| 吸烟 | xīyān | to smoke |
| 吸收 | xīshōu | to absorb; to assimilate |
| 吸管 | xīguǎn | (drinking) straw; pipette |
| 吸毒 | xīdú | to take drugs |
| 称呼 | chēnghu | to call; to address as; form of address; appellation |
| 打招呼 | dǎ zhāohu | to greet sb by word or action; to give prior notice |
| 欢呼 | huānhū | to cheer for; to acclaim |
| 呼唤 | hūhuàn | to call out (a name etc); to shout |
| 呼吁 | hūyù | to call on (sb to do sth); to appeal (to) |
| 吸取 | xīqǔ | to absorb; to draw (a lesson, insight etc) |
Questions about 呼吸
What does 呼吸 mean?
呼吸 (hūxī) means "to breathe" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 呼吸?
呼吸 is made of 2 characters: 呼 (8 strokes), 吸 (6 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 呼吸 an HSK word?
Yes. 呼吸 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 呼 and 吸 be used separately?
Yes. 吸 is common on its own or in words like 吸烟 (xīyān, to smoke) and 吸管 (xīguǎn, straw). 呼 alone appears more in set phrases, and it also means to call out, as in 招呼 (zhāohu, to greet).
How do I say I can't breathe in Chinese?
You can say 我不能呼吸 (wǒ bù néng hūxī) or, more naturally, 我喘不过气 (wǒ chuǎn bú guò qì). The second one is what people often say when they feel out of breath.