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喝酒 (hē jiǔ) — to drink alcohol; to have a drink

Definition

A verb-object phrase: 喝 + 酒, meaning 'to drink alcohol / have a drink'. 酒 is not just 'wine' — it covers all alcoholic drinks in everyday use.

verb
to drink alcoholto have a drink

Examples

  • 喝酒。
    Tā měi tiān wǎn fàn hòu dōu yào hē jiǔ.
    He drinks every day after dinner.
  • 。
    Tā zuó tiān wǎn shàng hē le hěn duō jiǔ.
    He drank a lot of alcohol last night.
  • 喝酒！
    Wǒ men yì qǐ qù hē jiǔ bā!
    Let's go drink together!

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

喝hēdrink
酒jiǔliquor

'喝' and '酒' directly describe drinking liquor.

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
曷
曷hé喝hē
Same sound today

The 口 part is a mouth. The 曷 part gives the sound.

Open 喝 →

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
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu酒jiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

酒 pairs 酉, the original picture for this word, with 水 (water), added later to distinguish it.

Open 酒 →
Appears in
Alcohol & Tobacco2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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