咽 is also the simplified spelling of 嚥.

咽

Mandarin · pinyin yān#

Meanings · yān

  1. throat; pharynx
  2. narrow pass
Mandarin · pinyin yàn#

Meanings · yàn

  1. variant of 嚥 yàn
Mandarin · pinyin yè#

Meanings · yè

  1. to choke (in crying)
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Characters in this entry

咽
yàn · throat; pharynx
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1 · yan1

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Connected dictionary

1character link41same-tone records
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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jin1 · jin3 · jit3

Cantonese word readings for 咽. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

  1. (anatomy) throat, pharynx

character · Etymology 3

  1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) to make a hoarse sound

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack

咽 · yan1 · yan4 · ye4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source lines 21,478, 21,479, 21,480
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source records咽 咽 [yan1] /throat; pharynx/narrow pass/咽 咽 [yan4] /variant of 嚥|咽[yan4]/咽 咽 [ye4] /to choke (in crying)/