What is the difference between 飲む and 呑む?


I saw a tweet that said

[code]

    要は日本酒が呑みたい
    
[/code]

And my dictionary translated [呑む](http://jisho.org/search/%E5%91%91%E3%82%80)
as 'to drink', with 飲む as the default spelling and 呑む as an alternate form.

What is the difference between 飲む and 呑む?




Maybe you know that to say "to take a pill" in Japanese you would say 丸薬をのむ.
(I did not put the kanji of のむ intentionally).

飲む is used to say _to drink_. I mean, to absorb a liquid through your mouth
like "to drink water, syrup, beer, ..."

On the other side 呑む is used more to mean _to swallow_. It can be figurative
or not. 涙｛なみだ｝を呑｛の｝む (to refrain one's anger), 固唾｛かたず｝を呑む(to hold one's breath
because of anxiety/fear), 息を呑む (to gasp). 町は闇に呑まれた (the village was in the
dark).

Thus, the "right" spelling of 丸薬をのむ is with 呑む but today everyone uses 飲む
(because 呑 is not part of the 常用漢字).




Maybe you know that to say "to take a pill" in Japanese you would say 丸薬をのむ.
(I did not put the kanji of のむ intentionally).

飲む is used to say _to drink_. I mean, to absorb a liquid through your mouth
like "to drink water, syrup, beer, ..."

On the other side 呑む is used more to mean _to swallow_. It can be figurative
or not. 涙｛なみだ｝を呑｛の｝む (to refrain one's anger), 固唾｛かたず｝を呑む(to hold one's breath
because of anxiety/fear), 息を呑む (to gasp). 町は闇に呑まれた (the village was in the
dark).

Thus, the "right" spelling of 丸薬をのむ is with 呑む but today everyone uses 飲む
(because 呑 is not part of the 常用漢字).

