Skip to content
Chinese Copilot

吸xīto breathe

HSK 4word

By Chinese Copilot · Last updated

吸 (xī) means "to breathe in," "to suck in," or "to absorb." It describes taking air, smoke, or liquid into something, as in 吸烟 (to smoke) or 吸水 (to absorb water). The thing taken in usually follows directly after 吸, and the subject can be a person or a material.

What does 吸 mean?

  1. 1.

    to breatheverb

  2. 2.

    to suck inverb

  3. 3.

    to absorbverb

What does the character 吸 mean?

  • 吸to breathe

How do you use 吸?

吸 usually takes what is drawn in as its object, as in 吸烟 or 吸水.

What are some examples of 吸 in a sentence?

  1. HSK 4

    他不吸烟。

    Tā bù xīyān.

    He doesn't smoke.

  2. HSK 3

    这种纸很能吸水。

    Zhè zhǒng zhǐ hěn néng xī shuǐ.

    This kind of paper absorbs water well.

  3. HSK 4

    植物从土里吸水。

    Zhíwù cóng tǔ li xī shuǐ.

    Plants absorb water from the soil.

How is 吸 used in a conversation?

  1. Speaker A:

    这里可以吸烟吗？

    Zhèlǐ kěyǐ xīyān ma?

    Can I smoke here?

  2. Speaker B:

    不可以，外面有吸烟的地方。

    Bù kěyǐ, wàimiàn yǒu xīyān de dìfang.

    No. There's a smoking area outside.

  3. Speaker A:

    在门口吗？

    Zài ménkǒu ma?

    Is it by the door?

  4. Speaker B:

    对，出门往左走。

    Duì, chūmén wǎng zuǒ zǒu.

    Yes, go out and turn left.

What should you learn next?

Related words

Browse every entry in the Chinese word dictionary.

English glosses on this page are adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG (snapshot 2026-10-23), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Glosses were edited for learners.