How do you say "swallow" in Japanese?

飲み込む

nomikomu

Verb Kanji

In Japanese, "swallow" is 飲み込む (nomikomu).

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Pronunciation

Nomikomu runs four even beats, no-mi-ko-mu, said briskly without stressing any single syllable over another.

Writing and usage

飲み込む is written using kanji. It's a verb, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.

Example sentence

病気の時に飲み込むと痛いです。

byouki no tokini nomikomu to itai desu.

It hurts to swallow when I'm ill.

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How to remember 飲み込む

Nomikomu contains 'nomi', which also means to drink, so swallowing is like drinking your food down in one motion.

Related words

Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.

Questions about 飲み込む

How do you pronounce 飲み込む?

Nomikomu runs four even beats, no-mi-ko-mu, said briskly without stressing any single syllable over another.

Is 飲み込む formal or casual?

飲み込む is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.

How is 飲み込む written in Japanese?

飲み込む is written using kanji. Romanised, it reads as nomikomu.

Where can I practice Japanese words for free?

You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.

"Swallow" in other languages

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This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.

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