‘抽烟’ is a compound verb meaning 'to smoke (cigarettes)'. It combines the verb 抽 (chōu), which literally means 'to draw' or 'to pull', and the noun 烟 (yān), meaning 'smoke' or 'tobacco'. Together, they describe the physical action of drawing smoke from a cigarette, cigar, or pipe into the mouth and lungs. This term is used almost exclusively for tobacco smoking — not vaping, hookah, or other forms — unless specified otherwise.

The word is common in everyday spoken and written Chinese, especially in discussions about health, habits, or social behavior. It carries neutral to slightly negative connotations depending on context, since smoking is widely recognized as harmful. While grammatically a verb, it functions as an intransitive action: you 'smoke' (抽烟), not 'smoke something' — the object (e.g., cigarettes) is usually omitted unless emphasized. It’s frequently used in prohibitions (e.g., 禁止抽烟), advice (e.g., 戒烟), and descriptions of personal habits.