吞 (tūn) · to swallow; to gulp down

Meanings

1 to swallow; to gulp down
2 to annex; to engulf; to take over

Characters

吞

tūn

to swallow; to gulp

Examples

HSK 2

大鱼吞小鱼。

Dàyú tūn xiǎo yú.

Big fish swallow small fish.

HSK 4

他把药片吞下去了。

Tā bǎ yàopiàn tūn xiàqù le.

He swallowed the pill.

HSK 7-9

别吞那么快，小心噎着。

Bié tūn nàme kuài, xiǎoxīn yē zhe.

Don't swallow so fast; be careful not to choke.

Tips

usage

吞 is for swallowing whole, without chewing. 吞吞吐吐 = to hesitate in speech (literally 'swallowing and spitting'), meaning to be evasive or mumbling.

memory

The character has 口 (mouth) at the top and 天 (heaven/sky) at the bottom - as if the mouth is swallowing the sky. Think big gulp.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

Mouth radical at the bottom - the indexing radical. It supplies meaning unmistakably: 吞 is something the mouth swallows down whole, without chewing. Same radical heads the broader eating/sound family. The vivid pair 吞云吐雾 ('swallow clouds, breathe out mist') captures the imagery - vast intake through the mouth.

phonetic

天 tiān

sky; heaven

天 (tiān) on top supplies the sound, drifting initial to give tūn. The image - sky/heaven looming over a mouth - gives a faint mnemonic flavour for 'swallowing whole, taking it all in.' Same phonetic stem feeds 添 (add). Chiefly sonic, with meaning delivered by the mouth below.