Word Choice: 咽喉 vs. 喉


<http://jisho.org/word/%E5%92%BD%E5%96%89>  
<http://jisho.org/word/%E5%96%89>  

I came across 咽喉【のど】 while reading. Jisho doesn't have「のど」listed as a reading
of 咽喉, but it _does_ have it under 喉.

So now I'm wondering what the differences between 咽喉【のど】, 咽喉【いんこう】 and 喉【のど】
are, since both「のど」and「いんこう」are defined as "throat".

Does anyone know?




[咽喉]{いんこう} and [喉]{のど} are synonyms, but [咽喉]{いんこう} has a more limited usage,
meaning either the throat (larynx + pharynx) or a vital passage.

[喉]{のど} also means throat, but it has a more wider, colloquial usage.

For example, you can say 「[喉]{のど}が[渇]{かわ}く」 (to be thirsty, lit. the throat
becomes thirsty) but you can’t say 「[咽喉]{いんこう}が[渇]{かわ}く」

[喉]{のど} also means a (singing) voice, eg. のど自慢.

In this case, [咽喉]{のど} was probably used by the author to designate the actual
body part while at the same time remaining more colloquial in tone.

