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verb HSK 1
hē
to drink

Meaning

喝 is one of the most fundamental verbs in Chinese, meaning 'to drink.' It's used for consuming any liquid, from water to tea to juice. Every beginner learns this word early since drinking is a basic daily action.

Usage

Native speakers use 喝 with all beverages. Common patterns include 喝水 (drink water), 喝茶 (drink tea), 喝咖啡 (drink coffee). It's a neutral, everyday verb appropriate for all situations.

Examples

  1. 01
    我喝水。
    Wǒ hē shuǐ.
    I drink water.
  2. 02
    你喝茶吗？
    Nǐ hē chá ma?
    Do you drink tea?

Common collocations

  • 喝水
    hē shuǐ
    to drink water
  • 喝茶
    hē chá
    to drink tea
  • 喝咖啡
    hē kāfēi
    to drink coffee

Origin

The character 喝 combines the mouth radical 口 (kǒu) on the left, indicating an action done with the mouth, with the phonetic component 曷 (hé) on the right.

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