呛

qiāng

to choke; to make cough

Character

Strokes: 7
Radical: 口 — mouth
Made of: 口 mouth 仓 granary, barn
How it's built: Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound

烟雾突然灌进车厢，呛得乘客纷纷捂住口鼻。 Yānwù tūrán guàn jìn chēxiāng, qiāng de chéngkè fēnfēn wǔ zhù kǒu bí. Smoke suddenly poured into the carriage, choking the passengers so that they covered their mouths and noses.
他呛了一口水，咳嗽了好半天才缓过来。 Tā qiàng le yī kǒu shuǐ, késou le hǎo bàn tiān cái huǎn guòlái. He choked on a mouthful of water and coughed for a long while before recovering.
辣椒的气味呛得她眼泪都流出来了。 Làjiāo de qìwèi qiàng de tā yǎnlèi dōu liú chūlái le. The smell of the chili peppers was so pungent that tears came to her eyes.