咽

• Pinyin: yàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 咽 = 口 (mouth) + 因 (enclosed/compressed — denoting the constricted passage of the throat)

Meaning

To swallow; to gulp down. Refers to the physical act of swallowing food, liquid, or saliva — and figuratively to suppress or hold back (grief, anger, words).

The pronunciation yàn is used for the act of swallowing (咽下, 咽口水). Note: same character read yān means throat (咽喉), and yè means to choke/sob (哽咽). In formal and medical contexts 吞咽 is preferred. Figurative use: 把委屈咽下去 (swallow one's grievances).

Examples

1. 手术后她的咽喉部位出现了严重水肿，导致吞咽困难，医生不得不通过鼻饲管为她提供营养。 After the surgery, her throat swelled badly, making it hard to swallow, so the doctor had to provide nutrition through a feeding tube.
2. 他强忍着眼眶里打转的泪水，硬生生地将所有的委屈和不甘都咽了下去，转身走出了那扇沉重的铁门。 He fought back the tears welling up in his eyes and forced himself to swallow all his grievance and resentment, then turned and walked out through the heavy iron door.
3. 长期焦虑的人往往会频繁做出咽口水的动作，这是交感神经系统持续激活所引发的一种典型的生理反应。 People with long-term anxiety often swallow repeatedly. It’s a typical physical response caused by the sympathetic nervous system staying continuously activated.

Usage Guide

Context: medicine, everyday speech, literature, physiology

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 老人因脑梗后遗症导致吞咽功能严重受损，每次进食都需要由护理人员全程辅助，以防食物误入气管引发窒息。(The elderly person's swallowing function was severely impaired as a result of post-stroke complications; every meal required full assistance from a carer to prevent food from entering the trachea and causing choking.)
• 他把那句话咽了回去，意识到在这个时候说出来只会让局面更加难以收拾，不如等待一个更合适的时机。(He swallowed those words back, realising that saying them at this moment would only make the situation harder to manage — better to wait for a more appropriate moment.)

Don't Say

• 她咽了食物进入胃里 — restructure as 她把食物咽下，送入胃中 or simply 她把食物咽了下去; the original phrasing is redundant and grammatically awkward

Origin & History

口 (mouth) + 因 (because/causation — 囗 enclosure + 大 large — something enclosed and compressed, suggesting the constricted throat channel)

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal