HanziGuru.嚥 · yàn
嚥
yàn[yan4]Tone 4

to swallow

HSK 7
View Simplified FormSwitch to Simplified
咽
Guru Deep Dive

English · to swallow

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Left-right
Strokes:9
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (口) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right component (因) occupies the remaining two-thirds with balanced horizontal spacing.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 嚥 contains 19 strokes with a complex right side (雝), which was simplified to 因 to reduce complexity while retaining the phonetic/semantic structure.
1. Meaning

to swallow

throatnarrow pass
VerbFormalBound morpheme#body parts#actions#anatomy
Sample Usage
  • 他艰难地咽了一口唾沫。
    tā jiānnán de yàn le yì kǒu tuòmo.
    He swallowed hard.
  • 咽喉
    yānhóu
    throat / larynx / strategic gateway
2. Sound
/[jan⁵¹]/Tone: 51
嚥
yànyan4
++
`(51)
=yàn
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
yan
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
y
Type: Glide (y)
Sounds like: y as in yes
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue body raises toward the hard palate as a semivowel glide before the final.
Final Rhyme
an
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: an rhymes with un in sun or can
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahn'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T4 (51)
4th Tone (High-Falling)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges sharply down like an emphatic 'No!' in English.
👂
Listening trap: Often confused with Tone 1 or Tone 2 because learners fail to make the drop sharp enough from high to low.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, forceful downward hand chop starting high and plunging down, matching the sharp falling pitch of Tone 4.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (口) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right component (因) occupies the remaining two-thirds with balanced horizontal spacing.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 嚥 contains 19 strokes with a complex right side (雝), which was simplified to 因 to reduce complexity while retaining the phonetic/semantic structure.

4. Components

Radical 口 · Mouth Radical (mouth, speaking, eating)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 口 (Indicates actions performed with the mouth, such as swallowing.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 因 (original sound: yīn / yàn)

The mouth radical (口) is placed on the left side to show that you are using your mouth to take something inside (因).

  • 口 Mouth semantic component
  • 因 Phonetic and structural component
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the mouth symbol (口) with a phonetic indicator (因) to represent the throat and the action of swallowing food or saliva.

Semantic Evolution: Over time, the character split into multiple readings and senses, with yàn specifically reserved for swallowing, while yān and yè are used for anatomical terms like the throat (咽喉).

  • The character bridges physical digestion and metaphorical bottlenecks in geography or strategy.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
yết / ế
Sino-Vietnamese readings preserve historical strata related to throat and swallowing.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: 엔 (en) / イン (in) / Kun: n飲む (nomu) / ofu
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
인
Sound Shift Bridge: Shared East Asian literary roots link 咽 to anatomical and medical vocabulary across Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

You open your **mouth** (口) to take **in** (**因**) medicine, and you must **swallow** (咽) it quickly because it tastes bitter.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
燕
yānYan, a vassal state of Zhou in present-day Hebei and Liaoning; north HebeiPhonetic Core (声旁)
讌
+ 言 (speech)
Explore this family →
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
因(yīn)
因 means cause and lacks the mouth radical (口) found on the left of 咽.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
生病吃藥時，苦得讓人難以下[___]。
Clue: yàn
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone with Tone 2 (yán) or misremembering the simplified right-hand side as a full enclosure instead of 因.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What action does 咽 represent, and what is its radical?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to swallow' (yàn) using the mouth radical and 'in'?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

Search theme
Accent preference

Results are live YouTube search — accents and levels aren't verified.

嚥yànto swallow
Speed:
Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...
0 / 0
Watch on YouTubeMore Results on YouTube