to choke / swallow
Loading your saved state.
to choke
To accidentally get food or drink into the windpipe instead of the esophagus, causing coughing or choking.
Er hat sich an einem Schluck Wasser verschluckt und musste stark husten.
He choked on a sip of water and had to cough hard.
'Verschlucken' (to choke / to swallow) is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'ver-' always stays attached to the stem 'schlucken' (to swallow). It often suggests that something happens incorrectly or unintentionally.
Pass auf, dass du den Kirschkern nicht verschluckst.
Be careful not to swallow the cherry pit.
When someone coughs because food goes down the wrong pipe, you use the reflexive construction 'sich verschlucken an' (to choke on), followed by the dative. The reflexive pronoun and the preposition are fixed here.
Ich habe mich an meinem eigenen Speichel verschluckt.
I choked on my own saliva.
You can recognize the meaning from the object or the grammar: 'sich verschlucken' (to choke) almost always means to choke on food or drink. An object like 'Wörter' (words) or 'Endungen' (endings) points to unclear speech. An object as a direct object refers to actually swallowing it.
Er hat sich beim Lachen verschluckt.
He choked while laughing.
When it is about unclear speech, certain things are often 'verschluckt' (swallowed): words, syllables, or the endings of words. This is a common description of fast or unclear speaking.
Bitte sprich lauter und versuche, die Silben nicht zu verschlucken.
Please speak louder and try not to swallow the syllables.
The figurative meaning, where something large 'verschluckt' (swallows up) something small, is often used in very vivid, almost literary language. Typical subjects are darkness, fog, or a large building.
Der dichte Nebel verschluckte die Straße und die Häuser.
The thick fog swallowed up the road and the houses.
to record / take in
'aufnehmen' and 'verschlucken' can both mean that something disappears into something else or is absorbed. 'aufnehmen' is neutral and fits with water, nutrients, light, or information. 'verschlucken' sounds stronger and more figurative: something disappears so that you can hardly see or hear it anymore. 'verschlucken' also has other meanings, for example choking while eating. In the meaning involving absorption, you would more likely say 'Der Stoff nimmt Wasser auf' (the material absorbs water), but 'Der Nebel verschluckt die Straße' (the fog swallows up the road).
Der dichte Nebel verschluckt die Lichter der Autos.
The thick fog swallows up the lights of the cars.
Der trockene Boden nimmt den Regen schnell auf.
The dry ground quickly absorbs the rain.