Chinese word

抽

Pronunciation

Pinyinchōu

Meaning

  • verbsmoke

Example

在医院里请不要抽烟。zài yī yuàn lǐ qǐng bú yào chōu yān

Please don't smoke in the hospital.

Illustration for 抽 (smoke)

More examples

下班后，他到楼下的便利店门口抽烟。xià bān hòu tā dào lóu xià de biàn lì diàn mén kǒu chōu yān

After work, he goes to the entrance of the convenience store downstairs to smoke.

Core concept

A quick tug that moves something from its source toward the hand or mouth.

Common phrases

  • 抽烟chōu yān

    smoke

  • 抽一口烟chōu yì kǒu yān

    take a drag

  • 抽香烟chōu xiāng yān

    smoke a cigarette

Similar words

抽烟chōu yān: To hold a cigarette to the mouth and inhale its smoke.
吸烟xī yān: To inhale cigarette smoke, especially into the lungs.
吸xī: To pull air or smoke into the mouth or nose.

Definition in Chinese

表示用力拉、抽取或短促吸入的动作；单字常与其他字合成，构成如抽签、抽屉、抽烟等表示抽取或吸入行为的词。biǎo shì yòng lì lā chōu qǔ huò duǎn cù xī rù de dòng zuò dān zì cháng yǔ qí tā zì hé chéng gòu chéng rú chōu qiān chōu tì chōu yān děng biǎo shì chōu qǔ huò xī rù xíng wèi de cí

Word origin

抽 (chōu, "to draw out or inhale") combines 扌 (shǒu, "hand") + 由 (yóu, "reason/from"); 扌 marks the action, while 由 supplies the sound, and the basic idea is pulling something out or in.

Usage tips

  • In casual conversation, the object can be left unstated when the situation identifies it, while explicit wording is clearer when a listener could misunderstand the action.

Other meanings

  • drawverb
  • extractverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word