ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

饮 yǐn to drink

to drink; beverage

How to remember 饮: 饣 food + 欠 to lack = to drink. The hot dog champion stuffs in more food, but with water lacking on the table he is desperate for something to drink.

  • 1,569. most frequent character
  • HSK 3
  • 7 strokes
  • Radical 食

Component breakdown

饮 = 饣 food + 欠 to lack

  • 饣 food
  • 欠 to lack
The Gushi story

The hot dog champion stuffs in more food, but with water lacking on the table he is desperate for something to drink.

How it is used

  • The written/formal verb 'to drink' - 饮 vs everyday 喝 (hē): 喝水 is what you say, 饮 shows up in compounds and signage like 饮用水 (yǐnyòngshuǐ) potable water.
  • As a noun it means 'a drink/beverage': 饮料 (yǐnliào) soft drink, 餐饮 (cānyǐn) food-and-beverage industry.
  • 饮食 (yǐnshí) means 'diet/eating habits' broadly, not a single drink - 注意饮食 (zhùyì yǐnshí) watch your diet.
  • Rarer literary reading yìn means 'to water (animals)', e.g. 饮马 (yìn mǎ) water the horses - not needed at HSK 3, but explains the two-reading entry.

Words with 饮

Example sentences

  • 他买了一瓶饮料。 Tā mǎile yì píng yǐnliào.He bought a bottle of something to drink.