Dictionary › 咽

咽

yàn

HSK 6 Character Traditional 嚥

What 咽 means

1. to swallow

Other readings

咽 is 多音字 — it is read more than one way, and the reading changes the meaning.

• yānthroat; pharynx; narrow pass
• yèto choke (in crying)
• yànvariant of {咽|yàn}

Example sentences

• 他狼吞虎咽地吃了一顿。
  Tā lángtūn-hǔyàn de chī le yī dùn.
  He devoured his meal.
• 老人咽下了最后一口气。
  Lǎorén yànxià le zuì hòu yī kǒu qì.
  The old man breathed his last.
• 不喝水我咽不下这些药片。
  Bù hē shuǐ wǒ yān bù xià zhèxiē yàopiàn.
  I can't swallow these tablets without a drink of water.
• 食物在吞咽前要经过咀嚼。
  Shíwù zài tūnyàn qián yào jīngguò jǔjué.
  Food should be chewed before being swallowed.
• 别狼吞虎咽的。你最好细嚼慢咽地吃。
  Bié lángtūnhǔyàn de. nǐ zuì hǎo xìjiáomànyàn de chī.
  Stop inhaling your food. You should eat a little slower.

Words starting with 咽

• 咽下yàn xiàto swallow
• 咽喉yān hóuthroat
• 咽气yàn qìto die; to breathe one's last
• 咽峡yān xiáisthmus of the fauces
• 咽炎yān yánpharyngitis
• 咽头yān tóupharynx
• 咽住yàn zhùto suppress (a sob, harsh words etc)
• 咽峡炎yān xiá yánangina; sore throat
• 咽鼓管yān gǔ guǎnEustachian tube (linking the pharynx 咽; auditory tube
• 咽下困难yàn xià kùn nándysphagia (medicine)

Words containing 咽

• 吞咽tūn yànto swallow; to gulp
• 哽咽gěng yèto choke with emotion; to choke with sobs
• 呜咽wū yèto sob; to whimper
• 狼吞虎咽láng tūn hǔ yànto wolf down one's food (idiom); to devour ravenously; to gorge oneself
• 下咽xià yànto swallow (food or drink)
• 前咽qián yānprepharynx (biology)
• 喉咽hóu yānlaryngopharynx; fig. a key position
• 抽咽chōu yèto sob
• 鼻咽bí yānnose and throat
• 下咽癌xià yān ái(medicine) hypopharyngeal cancer
• 鼻咽癌bí yān áicancers of the nose and throat; nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC)
• 吞咽困难tūn yàn kùn nándysphagia (medicine)
• 耳鼻咽喉ěr bí yān hóuear nose and throat; otolaryngology
• 细嚼慢咽xì jiáo màn yànto eat slowly (idiom)
• 扼襟控咽è jīn kòng yānto secure a stranglehold (idiom); fig. to hold a strategic pass
• 打掉门牙，往肚子里咽dǎ diào mén yá , wǎng dù zi lǐ yànlit. to swallow one's knocked-out teeth after getting punched in the face (idiom)…
• 梗咽gěng yèvariant of 哽咽

Characters built on 因

These share the phonetic component 因 (yīn), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 烟yāncigarette or pipe tobacco; smoke; mist
• 胭yānrouge

Characters that look like 咽

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 悯mǐnto sympathize; to pity; to feel compassion for; (literary) to feel sorrow; to be grieved
• 哺bǔto feed
• 哟yōOh! (interjection indicating slight surprise); also pr. yāo
• 哩lǐmile
• 唠láoused in 唠叨
• 咂zāto sip; to smack one's lips; to taste

Sounds the same

Read yàn, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 验to examine; to test; to check
• 厌(bound form) to loathe; to be fed up with; (literary) to satiate; to satisfy
• 宴(bound form) to entertain at a banquet; (bound form) banquet; feast; (literary) peaceful…
• 艳bright; fresh and attractive; glamorous; (bound form) amorous; romantic…
• 焰flame
• 燕swallow (family Hirundinidae); old variant of 宴
• 雁wild goose
• 彦accomplished; elegant
• 砚ink-stone
• 晏late; quiet
• 堰weir
• 滟tossing of billows