喝 (hē): to drink
喝 (hē) is a Chinese character meaning “to drink.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (semantic) and 曷 (phonetic). It ranks #982 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 喝 mouth. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 叫 (jiào, to call, to be called), 右 (yòu, (bound form) right).
Definitions
- to drink
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 喝 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 喝酒 | hē jiǔ | to drink (alcohol) |
| 喝茶 | hē chá | to drink tea |
| 喝彩 | hè cǎi | to acclaim |
| 吆喝 | yāo he | to shout |
| 吃喝 | chī hē | to eat and drink |
| 大吃大喝 | dà chī dà hē | to eat and drink as much as one likes |
| 吃喝玩乐 | chī hē wán lè | lit. to eat, drink, play and be merry (idiom) |
| 喝西北风 | hē xī běi fēng | lit. to drink the northwest wind (idiom) |
| 喝道 | hè dào | to shout (i.e. to say in a loud voice) (usually followed by the words shouted) |
| 三个和尚没水喝 | sān gè hé shang méi shuǐ hē | lit. three monks have no water to drink (idiom) |
| 大吃二喝 | dà chī èr hē | to eat and drink extravagantly |
| 呼来喝去 | hū lái hè qù | to call to come and shout to go (idiom) |
| 白吃白喝 | bái chī bái hē | to freeload |
| 牛不喝水强按头 | niú bù hē shuǐ qiǎng àn tóu | lit. to try to make an ox drink by forcing its head down to the water (idiom) |
| 好喝 | hǎo hē | tasty (drinks) |
喝 appears in 45 compound words: 42 as the first character, 38 as the last, and 20 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 喝 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
lit. to eat delicious food and drink hard liquor (idiom); fig. to live well
Example Sentences
早上起床后，我习惯先喝一杯温水，这样对身体很好。
Zǎoshang qǐchuáng hòu, wǒ xíguàn xiān hē yì bēi wēnshuǐ, zhèyàng duì shēntǐ hěn hǎo.
After getting up in the morning, I'm used to drinking a cup of warm water first; it's very good for the body.
昨晚喝了酒,今天开车算酒驾吗?答案来了
zuó wǎn hē le jiǔ , jīn tiān kāi chē suàn jiǔ jià ma ? dā àn lái le
Did I drink last night? Does driving today count as drunk driving? Here's the answer.
開春喝元氣手搖! 8折爽喝「大苑子草莓系列」、...
開 chūn hē yuán 氣 shǒu 搖 ! zhé shuǎng hē dà 苑 zǐ cǎo 莓 xì liè . . .
Start the spring with energizing bubble tea! Enjoy 20% off the "Dayuanzi Strawberry Series"...
每天喝咖啡和茶 失智風險最高降三成
měi tiān hē kā fēi hé chá shī zhì 風 險 zuì gāo jiàng sān chéng
Drinking coffee and tea every day reduces the risk of dementia by up to 30%.
考文垂:期待“为奥运喝彩”项目组持续发挥文化桥梁作用
kǎo wén chuí qī dài wéi ào yùn hē cǎi xiàng mù zǔ chí xù fā huī wén huà qiáo liáng zuò yòng
Coventry: We look forward to the continued role of the Cheers to the Olympics team in bridging cultures.
仙氣調酒喝下肚小心胃穿孔 警:最慘喪命
xiān 氣 調 jiǔ hē xià dù xiǎo xīn wèi chuān kǒng jǐng zuì 慘 喪 mìng
Drinking of the spirit of the drink to be careful of perforation of the stomach, police: the most tragic loss of life
你想要什么喝的吗？
Nǐ xiǎngyào shénme hē de ma?
Do you want something to drink?
我们用喝茶的时间谈谈，好吗？
Wǒmen yòng hēchá de shíjiān tántán, hǎo ma?
Let's talk over a cup of tea, shall we?
你不和我一起喝点茶吗？
Nǐ bù hé wǒ yīqǐ hē diǎn chá ma?
Won't you have some tea with me?
你喜欢喝茶；还是咖啡？
Nǐ xǐhuan hēchá; háishi kāfēi?
Which would you rather have, tea or coffee?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 喝 (hē) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 喝 and 渴?
How many strokes does 喝 have?
What is the radical of 喝?
What are the components of 喝?
What are common words containing 喝?
What characters sound the same as 喝 (hē)?
Is 喝 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 喝 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.