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狼吞虎咽 (láng tūn-hǔ yàn) — to wolf down one's food; to devour ravenously

Definition

A vivid chengyu for eating extremely fast and greedily, like a wolf or tiger devouring prey. It is more literary and image-rich than plain 吃得快.

phrase
to wolf down one's foodto devour ravenously

Examples

  • 狼吞虎咽。
    Tā láng tūn-hǔ yàn dì chī wán le zhěng wǎn fàn.
    He wolfed down the whole bowl of rice.
  • 狼吞虎咽，。
    Chī fàn bú yào nà me láng tūn-hǔ yàn, duì shēn tǐ bù hǎo.
    Don't wolf down your food like that; it's bad for your health.
  • 狼吞虎咽，。
    Kàn dào tā láng tūn-hǔ yàn de yàng zi, mā ma hěn dān xīn.
    Seeing him wolfing down his food, Mom is very worried.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

狼吞wolf-like swallow
狼lángwolf吞tūnswallow
偏正Modifier + head
虎咽tiger-like gulp
虎hǔtiger咽yàngulp
偏正Modifier + head

狼 and 虎 evoke wolf and tiger, while 吞 and 咽 mean swallow, so together they picture ravenous eating.

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
良
良liáng狼láng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 犭 (full form 犬) shows a dog-like animal. The right part 良 gives the sound.

Open 狼 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 吞 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

虎 originally drew a tiger's head. Its body disappeared, and the legs and tail became the lower part.

Open 虎 →

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
因
因yīn咽yàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 咽, 口 is mouth, showing it is connected to the mouth or throat; 因 gives the sound.

Open 咽 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Food (General)Idioms & Set Phrases

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.