HSK 5 · Verbs

吸收 xīshōu “to absorb” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 吸收 means

  1. to absorb
  2. to assimilate
  3. to ingest
  4. to recruit

How to say 吸收

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale吸xī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale收shōu1st tone, high and level

吸收 in a sentence

  1. 树木排出氧气，吸收二氧化碳。

    Shùmù páichū yǎngqì, xīshōu èryǎnghuàtàn.

    Trees give off oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.

    Sentence #380720 from Tatoeba

  2. 我想知道这些物质是怎么被人体吸收的。

    Wǒ xiǎng zhīdao zhèxiē wùzhì shì zěnme bèi réntǐ xīshōu de.

    I’d like to know how the body absorbs these substances.

    Sentence #358974 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 平流层的臭氧会吸收紫外线。

    Píngliúcéng de chòuyǎng huì xīshōu zǐwàixiàn.

    The ozone in the stratosphere absorbs ultraviolet radiation.

    Sentence #6151835 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

How 吸收 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 吸 (xī) with each of its parts in a different colour
吸xīto breathe
  • 口mouth · kǒuMeaning part
  • 及to extend · jíSound part

口 hints at the meaning (mouth); 及 (jí) hints at the sound. Compare it with xī.

The character 收 (shōu) with each of its parts in a different colour
收shōuto receive
  • 丩to connect · jiūSound part
  • 攵tap form of 攴 · pūMeaning part

攵 hints at the meaning (tap); 丩 (jiū) hints at the sound. Compare it with shōu.

How to write 吸收

吸 6 strokes · 收 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

吸收 (xīshōu) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 吸收 (xīshōu). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 吸收

Words with 吸

吸引xīyǐn · to attract呼吸hūxī · to breathe吸取xīqǔ · to absorb

Words with 收

收到shōudào · to receive收shōu · to receive收拾shōushi · to put in order收入shōurù · income收据shōujù · receipt收获shōuhuò · harvest收藏shōucáng · to collect收缩shōusuō · to shrink验收yànshōu · to check and accept招收zhāoshōu · to recruit

More words: Common Verbs

维修wéixiū · to repair闻wén · to smell握手wòshǒu · to shake hands限制xiànzhì · to restrict系xì · (university) department系领带jì lǐngdài · to tie a tie吓xià · to frighten显得xiǎnde · to seem

FAQs

吸收 (xīshōu) means “to absorb” or “to assimilate”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it xīshōu: xī with a 1st tone, then shōu with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 吸收 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type xishou with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 吸收 from the suggestions. Typing xishou into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
吸收 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.