Chinese word

喝

Pronunciation

Pinyinhē

Meaning

  • verbdrink

Example

我昨天晚上喝了很多水。wǒ zuó tiān wǎn shàng hē le hěn duō shuǐ

I drank a lot of water last night.

Illustration for 喝 (drink)

More examples

他渴了，想喝水。tā kě le xiǎng hē shuǐ

He is thirsty and wants to drink water.

Core concept

The mouth either takes something in or projects a strong voice outward.

Common phrases

  • 喝水hē shuǐ

    drink water

  • 喝茶hē chá

    drink tea

  • 喝牛奶hē niú nǎi

    drink milk

Similar words

吃chī: Put food in the mouth, chew it, and swallow it.
饮yǐn: Take liquid into the mouth and swallow it in formal or literary language.

Definition in Chinese

以口吸入或吞下液体，这是主要义；在古典或书面语中、『喝』也可表示高声斥责或命令性的喝止。yǐ kǒu xī rù huò tūn xià yè tǐ zhè shì zhǔ yào yì zài gú diǎn huò shū miàn yǔ zhōng hē yě kě biǎo shì gāo shēng chì zé huò mìng lìng xìng de hè zhǐ

Word origin

The character 喝 (hē, "drink; shout") combines 口 (kǒu, "mouth") with 曷 (hé, "sound marker"), linking its written form to mouth activity while using 曷 chiefly for sound.

Usage tips

  • Modern spoken Chinese most often uses this word for drinking, whereas its shouting or scolding use is more likely in older texts, formal writing, or fixed expressions.

Other meanings

  • shoutverb
  • scoldverb

Word lists with this word