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Chinese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "swallow" in Chinese?
吞下去
tūn xià qù
In Chinese, "swallow" is 吞下去 (tūn xià qù).
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Pronunciation
It's spoken "tūn xià qù" (first tone, then fourth tone, then fourth tone), where held flat and steady, almost like humming one note; then the next syllable is snapping downward fast.
Writing and usage
吞下去 is written using hanzi. It's a verb, part of the vocabulary taught in the Noun Town language learning game.
Example sentence
我生病时吞咽会疼。
wǒ shēng bìng shí tūn yàn huì téng 。
It hurts to swallow when I'm ill.
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How to remember 吞下去
Picture the scene from "It hurts to swallow when I'm ill" — that image locks onto "tūn xià qù" for swallow.
Related words
Browse all Chinese words in the glossary.
Questions about 吞下去
How do you pronounce 吞下去?
It's spoken "tūn xià qù" (first tone, then fourth tone, then fourth tone), where held flat and steady, almost like humming one note; then the next syllable is snapping downward fast.
Is 吞下去 formal or casual?
吞下去 is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech.
How is 吞下去 used in Chinese?
吞下去 is used the same way as the equivalent English verb. For example: 我生病时吞咽会疼。 (It hurts to swallow when I'm ill.).
Where can I practice Chinese words for free?
You can play free Chinese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, no sign-up required. Every word in the Chinese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Swallow" in other languages
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
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