hū xī
to breathe; respire
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我需要呼吸新鲜空气。
wǒ xūyào hūxī xīnxiān kōngqì.
I need to breathe some fresh air.
他正在做深呼吸。
tā zhèngzài zuò shēn hūxī.
He is taking a deep breath.
呼吸系统很重要。
hūxī xìtǒng hěn zhòngyào.
The respiratory system is very important.
换气 (huànqì)
ventilation
喘气 (chuǎnqì)
panting
呼气 (hū qì)
exhale
憋气 (biē qì)
hold one's breath
The Chinese word 呼吸 (hūxī) for "respiration" is composed of two characters: 呼 (hū) and 吸 (xī). The character 呼 originally meant "to exhale" or "to breathe out," and it is composed of the radical 口 (kǒu) for "mouth" and the phonetic component 乎 (hū). The character 吸 originally meant "to inhale" or "to breathe in," and it is composed of the radical 鼻 (bí) for "nose" and the phonetic component 夕 (xī). When combined, the two characters 呼 and 吸 form the word 呼吸, which refers to the process of breathing in and out.
