吞

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to swallow; to take

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

口 meaning “mouth” + 天 sound ( tiān )

Components 天口

gulp down · Heisig RSH #1695

天 heavens + 口 mouth

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
人心不足蛇吞象	rén xīn bù zú shé tūn xiàng	a man who is never content is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant (idiom)
巴吞鲁日	Bā tūn Lǔ rì	Baton Rouge, capital of Louisiana
吞声忍气	tūn shēng rěn qì	see 忍氣吞聲\|忍气吞声[ren3 qi4 tun1 sheng1]
忍气吞声	rěn qì tūn shēng	to submit to humiliation (idiom); to suffer in silence; to swallow one's anger; to grin an…
吞金	tūn jīn	to commit suicide by swallowing gold
吞音	tūn yīn	(linguistics) elision
吞拿鱼	tūn ná yú	(loanword) tuna
吞声	tūn shēng	to swallow one's cries
吞精	tūn jīng	to swallow semen
吞食	tūn shí	to devour
云吞	yún tūn	wonton
吞吃	tūn chī	to devour
吞服	tūn fú	to swallow; to take (medicine)
吞吐量	tūn tǔ liàng	throughput
生吞活剥	shēng tūn huó bō	to swallow whole (idiom); fig. to apply uncritically
独吞	dú tūn	to hog; to keep everything for oneself
温吞	wēn tūn	tepid; lukewarm; (fig.) apathetic; half-hearted; sluggish; mild-tempered
吞没	tūn mò	to embezzle; to swallow up; to engulf
饮恨吞声	yǐn hèn tūn shēng	to harbor a grudge with deep-seated hatred (idiom)
吞米桑布札	Tūn mǐ Sāng bù zhá	Tunmi Sanghuzha (6th century AD), originator of the Tibetan script

Characters sharing the sound component 天 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
天 sound part	tiān	sky, heaven; god, celestial
蚕	cán	silkworm
忝	tiǎn	shame, disgrace; self-depreciation