吞

• Pinyin: tūn
• Hanzi breakdown: 吞 = 天 (sky, phonetic) + 口 (mouth, semantic)

Meaning

To swallow; to gulp down. To take something into the mouth and swallow without chewing much.

Used literally for swallowing food, medicine, or other substances. Also used figuratively in idioms and expressions: 吞吞吐吐 (hesitant speech), 侵吞 (to embezzle), 吞并 (to annex). Implies consuming something whole or completely.

Examples

1. 药片太大了，我试了好几次才吞下去。 The pill was too big, and it took me several tries to swallow it.
2. 他狼吞虎咽地吃完了整盘饭菜。 He wolfed down the entire plate of food.
3. 有话就直说，别吞吞吐吐的。 If you have something to say, just say it directly. Don't be so hesitant.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, medical, figurative

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 这个药要整片吞下去。(This medicine should be swallowed whole.)
• 他一口吞掉了整颗葡萄。(He swallowed the whole grape in one gulp.)

Don't Say

• 我吞了一口米饭 — 吃米饭一般用'吃'，吞强调不咀嚼直接咽下，通常用于药片、整块食物等

Origin & History

Pictophonetic character with 口 (mouth) as the semantic component and 天 (sky/heaven) providing phonetic guidance.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal