吞
to swallow; to take
7 strokes
Dict coverage rank #1,617 U+541E
How 吞 is formed
Phono-semantic compound (形声字)
口 (semantic, “mouth”) + 天 (phonetic, tiān)
How to remember it
gulp down · Heisig RSH #1695
天 heavens + 口 mouth
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Phonetic series: characters sharing the sound component 天
Siblings built with the same phonetic component 天 (tiān) — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 天 sound component | tiān | sky, heaven; god, celestial |
| 蚕 | cán | silkworm |
| 忝 | tiǎn | shame, disgrace; self-depreciation |
Words containing 吞
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 人心不足蛇吞象 | rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng | a man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant (idiom) |
| 巴吞鲁日 | Bā tūn Lǔ rì | Baton Rouge, capital of Louisiana |
| 吞声忍气 | tūn shēng rěn qì | see 忍氣吞聲|忍气吞声[ren3 qi4 tun1 sheng1] |
| 忍气吞声 | rěn qì tūn shēng | to submit to humiliation (idiom); to suffer in silence; to swallow one's anger; to grin an… |
| 吞金 | tūn jīn | to commit suicide by swallowing gold |
| 吞音 | tūn yīn | (linguistics) elision |
| 吞拿鱼 | tūn ná yú | (loanword) tuna |
| 吞声 | tūn shēng | to swallow one's cries |
| 吞精 | tūn jīng | to swallow semen |
| 吞食 | tūn shí | to devour |
| 云吞 | yún tūn | wonton |
| 吞吃 | tūn chī | to devour |
| 吞服 | tūn fú | to swallow; to take (medicine) |
| 吞吐量 | tūn tǔ liàng | throughput |
| 生吞活剥 | shēng tūn huó bō | to swallow whole (idiom); fig. to apply uncritically |
| 独吞 | dú tūn | to hog; to keep everything for oneself |
| 温吞 | wēn tūn | tepid; lukewarm; (fig.) apathetic; half-hearted; sluggish; mild-tempered |
| 吞没 | tūn mò | to embezzle; to swallow up; to engulf |
| 饮恨吞声 | yǐn hèn tūn shēng | to harbor a grudge with deep-seated hatred (idiom) |
| 吞米桑布札 | Tūn mǐ Sāng bù zhá | Tunmi Sanghuzha (6th century AD), originator of the Tibetan script |