咽 (yān) is a Chinese character meaning “the pharynx”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 因 (cause; reason), side by side, and takes 9 strokes. It has a second reading, yàn, which turns up in 吞咽 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “throat”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
口 + 因
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS ⿰口因，与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数核对（口 3 + 因 6 = 9）
Memory aid
Behind the mouth (口) lies a walled-in passage (因) — the throat, the one narrow gate everything you eat and say must pass through.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 咽喉yān hóuthroat; pharynx and larynx咽 = yān
Go deeper
All readings
throat; pharynx
the pharynx; the passage behind the mouth leading to the esophagus
口腔后部、连接食道的通道，即咽部。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 咽喉yān hóuthroat; pharynx and larynx咽 = yān
to swallow
to swallow; to take something down the throat
把东西经咽部送下去；吞下。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 吞咽tūn yànto swallow咽 = yàn
to choke with sobs
used in 呜咽: to sob, with the voice catching in the throat
用于「呜咽」，指哭时声音哽塞、断断续续。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 呜咽wū yèto sob; to whimper咽 = yè
Sound component
因 family rime near
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 咽 mean?
咽 (yān) means the pharynx; the passage behind the mouth leading to the esophagus.
How do you pronounce 咽?
Its main reading is yān. It also has a second reading, yàn, which only shows up in certain words such as 吞咽 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 咽 sometimes pronounced yàn?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 吞咽 it is read yàn.
What parts is 咽 made of?
口 (mouth) and 因 (cause; reason), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS ⿰口因，与 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数核对（口 3 + 因 6 = 9）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 咽 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 咽?
口. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 咽?
Common ones are 咽喉. The reading of 咽 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.