Meaning
吮 means to suck or draw in liquid with the mouth, typically by creating suction. It describes the action of sucking on something, whether for nourishment (like a baby nursing) or other purposes (like sucking on a wound or candy). This is a more literary or formal term compared to colloquial expressions.
Usage
吮 is more commonly seen in written or formal contexts. In everyday speech, people might use other expressions like 吸 (xī) for general sucking or more specific colloquial phrases. It frequently appears in set phrases like 吮吸 (shǔnxī) and the idiom 舐犊情深/吮犊之爱, referring to parental love.
Examples
- 01婴儿正在吮吸母亲的乳汁。' .The baby is suckling the mother's milk.
- 02他吮了吮被刺破的手指。.He sucked on his pricked finger.
Common collocations
- 吮吸to suck, to suckle
- 吮指to suck one's finger
- 吮血to suck blood
Antonyms
Origin
The character 吮 combines the mouth radical 口 (kǒu) on the left with 允 (yǔn) on the right, which provides the phonetic component. The mouth radical clearly indicates this is an action performed with the mouth.