How do you pronounce 囫囵吞枣?

囫囵吞枣 is pronounced hú lún tūn zǎo in Mandarin Chinese.

Where does 囫囵吞枣 come from?

囫囵吞枣 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 囫囵吞枣?

囫囵：整个儿。把枣整个咽下去，不加咀嚼，不辨滋味。比喻对事物不加分析思考。

囫囵吞枣 — “Swallowing a whole date”

囫囵吞枣 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to accept or learn something without proper understanding, analysis, or critical thought; to swallow something whole without intellectually digesting it”. Literally, “Swallowing a whole date”.

Frequency

囫囵吞枣 Pronunciation and Pinyin

囫hú
囵lún
吞tūn
枣zǎo

囫囵吞枣 Character Breakdown

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
囫	hú	7	swallow whole without understanding
囵	lún	7	whole or complete
吞	tūn	7	swallow, engulf, annex
枣	zǎo	8	jujube fruit or tree

Example Sentence with 囫囵吞枣

小明在预习新课时总是囫囵吞枣，导致上课时很多地方听不懂。

Xiao Ming always swallows his pre-reading material whole, which leads to him not understanding many parts during class.

Origin and Story of 囫囵吞枣

There was once a person who told others, "Eating a little pear is good for your teeth, but eating too much will harm your spleen. Dates, on the other hand, can strengthen the spleen, but too many will harm your teeth."

One listener thought for a moment and said, "If I only chew the pear without swallowing, will it still harm my spleen? And if I don't chew the date, just swallow it whole, wouldn't that protect my teeth?"

Another young man, hearing this, joked, "Aren't you just swallowing the date whole then?" Everyone present laughed.

Moral: When we learn knowledge, we should not swallow it whole. First, we must clearly understand the knowledge we are going to learn, and then earnestly master it. If we only learn superficially, we will not acquire true knowledge.

Idioms Related to 囫囵吞枣

Synonyms of 囫囵吞枣

Antonyms of 囫囵吞枣

More idioms starting with 囫

hú囫lún囵bàn半piàn片partial understanding

Questions about 囫囵吞枣

What does 囫囵吞枣 mean?: 囫囵吞枣 (hú lún tūn zǎo) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to accept or learn something without proper understanding, analysis, or critical thought; to swallow something whole without intellectually digesting it”.
How do you pronounce 囫囵吞枣?: 囫囵吞枣 is pronounced hú lún tūn zǎo in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 囫囵吞枣 literally mean?: Literally, 囫囵吞枣 means “Swallowing a whole date”. It is used to mean “to accept or learn something without proper understanding, analysis, or critical thought; to swallow something whole without intellectually digesting it”.
Where does 囫囵吞枣 come from?: 囫囵吞枣 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 囫囵吞枣?: 囫囵：整个儿。把枣整个咽下去，不加咀嚼，不辨滋味。比喻对事物不加分析思考。

Copy the pinyin for 囫囵吞枣 →Choose tone marks or tone numbers and copy the complete four-character reading.Read Chinese vocabulary and idiom guides →Continue with words, phrases, and idioms explained through natural examples.