Chinese word

呼吸

Pronunciation

Pinyinhū xī

Meaning

  • verbbreathe

Example

请深深地呼吸。qǐng shēn shēn dì hū xī

Please breathe deeply.

Illustration for 呼吸 (breathe)

More examples

睡觉时最好用鼻子呼吸。shuì jiào shí zuì hǎo yòng bí zi hū xī

It is best to breathe through your nose when sleeping.

Core concept

A repeating two-way flow of air that keeps the body supplied and alive.

Common phrases

  • 用口呼吸yòng kǒu hū xī

    breathe through the mouth

  • 深深地呼吸shēn shēn dì hū xī

    breathe deeply

  • 缓慢地呼吸huǎn màn dì hū xī

    breathe slowly

Similar words

吸气xī qì: Draw air into the lungs through the nose or mouth.
呼气hū qì: Send air from the lungs out through the nose or mouth.
深呼吸shēn hū xī: Breathe in and out slowly and deeply, often to relax or regain calm.
喘气chuǎn qì: Breathe quickly and shallowly with difficulty, often after physical effort.

Definition in Chinese

用肺、气道通过吸入和呼出空气以维持生命的生理活动。yòng fèi qì dào tōng guò xī rù hé hū chū kōng qì yǐ wéi chí shēng mìng de shēng lǐ huó dòng

Word origin

呼吸 (hūxī, "breathing") joins 呼 (hū, "send air out") + 吸 (xī, "draw air in") to name the two opposite movements that make up the process.

Usage tips

  • In health, exercise, and calming contexts, Chinese often adds words for depth, speed, or duration around this verb, so those modifiers show how the breathing is performed.

Other meanings

  • breathnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 深呼吸shēn hū xīdeep breathingnoun
  • 呼吸法hū xī fǎbreathing techniquenoun

Word lists with this word