Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 喝 | hē | /xɤ⁵⁵/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /xo⁵⁵/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 飲 / 饮 | yǐn | literary | |
| 啉 | lim | /lim⁴⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Sinological IPA, Taipei, Kaohsiung, General Taiwanese) /lim³³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) |
Hokkien |
The primary way to express the action of consuming liquid through the mouth is using the verb 喝. This can be combined with other words, such as in the standard phrase 喝水 (hē shuǐ) to mean 'to drink water'. Additionally, the noun forms 飲料 / 饮料 and 飲品 / 饮品 are used to refer to a served beverage.
Which one should you use?
While 喝 is the standard word used for 'to drink' in daily conversation, the form 飲 / 饮 is a more formal or literary version. Use 飲 / 饮 when you are writing in a literary context or when it is part of a formal name.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Dungan, the word хә (hə) is used. In Hokkien, the word 啉 (lim) is used.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb 喝 is invariant. It does not change its form based on person, number or tense.
How do you pronounce it?
喝 is pronounced as /xɤ⁵⁵/ (hē).
Did you know?
- The character 喝 shares a common linguistic ancestor with the Burmese word ဟစ်, which means 'to call out loudly'.
Examples in context
- 你想喝什么？What would you like to drink?The first sentence is useful for asking someone what they would like to drink using 喝.Tatoeba #419678 by GlossaMatik, translation #24765 by CK
- 他不喝咖啡。He doesn't drink coffee.The second sentence is useful for stating that someone does not drink coffee using 喝.Tatoeba #1724523 by egg0073, translation #1724520 by CH
- 你喝绿茶吗？Do you drink green tea?The third sentence is useful for asking if someone drinks green tea using 喝.Tatoeba #2782917 by GlossaMatik, translation #1768241 by CM
- 我想喝一杯水。I would like to have a glass of water.
- 他喜欢喝茶。He enjoys drinking tea.
- 下午我们去喝一杯咖啡吧！Let's go have a cup of coffee in the afternoon!
- 他常常去这家酒吧饮酒。He often goes to this bar to drink alcohol.
- 240 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
At a cafe, Haoran and Jiayi are looking at the menu.
- 浩然 Haoran你想喝热的还是冷的？Nǐ xiǎng hē rè de háishì lěng de?Do you want to drink something hot or cold?
- 佳怡 Jiayi我想喝冰奶茶。Wǒ xiǎng hē bīng nǎichá.I want to drink iced milk tea.
- 浩然 Haoran好，我也想喝一杯。Hǎo, wǒ yě xiǎng hē yì bēi.Okay, I want to drink one too.
- 佳怡 Jiayi那我们点奶茶吧。Nà wǒmen diǎn nǎichá ba.Then let's order milk tea.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “drink” translations and entries 喝, 啉, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 啉, 喝, 飲, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
