吸引 xīyǐn — to attract, to draw (attention, interest)
xīyǐn (first tone, high and level)xi1yin3
to attract, to draw (attention, interest)
HSK 4· HSK 1–4 (classic)verb
Meanings
to attract, to draw (attention, interest)
To pull attention or interest towards something — 吸 to draw in, as breath draws in air, 引 to lead. A shop window, a piece of music, an interesting person can all 吸引 people; the thing doing the attracting is the grammatical subject.
verb
Example sentences
- 这本书的故事很吸引我。這本書的故事很吸引我。Zhè (fourth tone, falling) běn (third tone, dipping) shū (first tone, high and level) de (neutral tone) gùshi (fourth tone, falling) hěn (third tone, dipping) xīyǐn (first tone, high and level) wǒ. (third tone, dipping)···
This book’s story really draws me in.
- 那个广告很吸引人，很多人都去看了。那個廣告很吸引人，很多人都去看了。Nàge (fourth tone, falling) guǎnggào (third tone, dipping) hěn (third tone, dipping) xīyǐn (first tone, high and level) rén, (second tone, rising) hěn (third tone, dipping) duō (first tone, high and level) rén (second tone, rising) dōu (first tone, high and level) qù (fourth tone, falling) kàn (fourth tone, falling) le. (neutral tone)···
That advertisement is very eye-catching — lots of people went to see it.
Common mistakes
Not quite我对这个电影很吸引。
Correct这个电影很吸引我。
吸引 is a transitive verb whose subject does the attracting; the thing pulled in is its object, not a person marked with 对. Chinese puts the attractive thing first: 电影吸引我, not 我对电影吸引.