喉咙 (hóu lóng) — throat

Definition

喉咙 (hóu lóng) names the throat as a body part and is the neutral, everyday term. 嗓子 (sǎng zi) overlaps but leans toward 'voice / vocal cords' (as in 嗓子疼, 嗓子哑), while 咽喉 (yān hóu) is more anatomical/technical or figurative ('bottleneck').

noun
throat

Examples

  • ，喉咙。
    Wǒ gǎn mào le, hóu lóng hěn bù shū fu.
    I have a cold, and my throat is very uncomfortable.
  • 喉咙。
    Duō hē rè shuǐ duì hóu lóng yǒu hǎo chù.
    Drinking more hot water is good for the throat.
  • 喉咙。
    Tā chàng gē qián xiān rùn le rùn hóu lóng.
    He moistened his throat before singing.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

喉hóuthroat
咙lóngthroat

喉 and 咙 both refer to the throat, naming it as a whole.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
侯
侯hóu喉hóu
Same sound today

喉 combines 口, a mouth, with 侯, which gives its sound.

Open 喉 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 嚨; 咙 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
龍
龍lóng嚨
Same sound today

The traditional form 嚨 combines 口 (mouth) with 龍, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 咙 is a later shorthand.

Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Body Parts5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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