to choke / swallow
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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.
to swallow
To swallow something, especially an object, that is not meant to be eaten.
Das Kleinkind hat eine Münze verschluckt, wir müssen sofort zum Arzt.
The toddler swallowed a coin; we need to go to the doctor immediately.
to swallow
To fail to pronounce words or sounds clearly when speaking, making them difficult to understand.
Er spricht so schnell und verschluckt die Endungen, dass ich ihn kaum verstehe.
He speaks so quickly and swallows the endings that I can hardly understand him.
to swallow up
In a figurative sense: to take in, absorb, or make something disappear completely.
Die Dunkelheit schien das kleine Haus am Waldrand förmlich zu verschlucken.
The darkness seemed to virtually swallow up the little house at the edge of the forest.
'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 suffocate
Both words can occur in an accident involving food and a lack of air. Sich verschlucken describes the triggering event, when food enters the windpipe; ersticken describes the possible consequence, when this prevents enough air from getting through. Use the appropriate word depending on the point in time.
Das Kind verschluckte sich an einem Stück Apfel und begann sofort zu husten.
The child choked on a piece of apple and immediately began to cough.
Das Kind wäre beinahe erstickt, nachdem ein Stück Apfel in seine Luftröhre geraten war.
The child nearly suffocated after a piece of apple entered its windpipe.
