哽 (gěng) · to choke with emotion, to choke on food

Meanings

1 to choke with emotion
2 to choke on food

Characters

哽

gěng

to choke with emotion

Examples

HSK 2

他哽得说不下去了。

Tā gěng de shuō bù xiàqù le.

He choked up and could not finish speaking.

HSK 7-9

她读着信，哽咽起来。

Tā dú zhe xìn, gěngyè qǐlái.

She read the letter and choked with sobs.

Tips

usage

哽 almost always appears in 哽咽, to be so choked with emotion that words catch in the throat. It can also mean to choke physically on a piece of food.

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

The mouth radical 口 fixes the meaning at the throat and mouth: the place where words or food catch when one chokes up.

phonetic

更 gèng

more; to change

更 supplies the sound, shifted from gèng to gěng. It is the phonetic element here, the same one in 梗 and 硬.

Stroke Order

哽 gěng

Related Words

哽咽 gěngyè HSK 7-9 #46,545

to choke with sobs / to be choked with emotion

食品 shípǐn HSK 4 #3,202

food / foodstuff / food product

感情 gǎnqíng HSK 4 #1,188

emotion; feeling / affection; attachment (between people) / relationship (romantic or otherwise)

打包 dǎbāo HSK 5 #4,883

to pack; to package / to get a doggy bag (take leftover food from a restaurant) / to bundle up

窒息 zhìxī HSK 7-9 #4,556

to suffocate / to choke / to stifle

丁 dīng HSK 7-9 #3,663

a small cube or piece (of food) / fourth of the Heavenly Stems / male adult

享用 xiǎngyòng HSK 7-9 #5,350

to enjoy (food, benefits) / to partake of

主食 zhǔshí HSK 5 #43,518

staple food / main food (rice, noodles, bread, etc.)

肚 dǔ #5,383

tripe (animal stomach used as food)

爆发 bàofā HSK 6 #3,465

to break out; to erupt / to burst forth (emotion, conflict, disease)