Usage note
“吸收”意思是把东西吸进来，比如海绵吸水，或者学习知识。
“xī shōu” yì si shì bǎ dōng xi xī jìn lái, bǐ rú hǎi mián xī shuǐ, huò zhě xué xí zhī shi.
"Absorb" means to take something in, like a sponge absorbing water, or learning knowledge.
Context note
植物通过根吸收水分和营养，才能长大。
Zhí wù tōng guò gēn xī shōu shuǐ fèn hé yíng yǎng, cái néng zhǎng dà.
Plants absorb water and nutrients through their roots to grow.
5 examples
海绵能吸收很多水。
hǎi mián néng xī shōu hěn duō shuǐ。
A sponge can absorb a lot of water.
我们要吸收新知识。
wǒ men yào xī shōu xīn zhī shi。
We need to absorb new knowledge.
毛巾吸收汗水。
máo jīn xī shōu hàn shuǐ。
The towel absorbs sweat.
土壤吸收雨水。
tǔ rǎng xī shōu yǔ shuǐ。
The soil absorbs rainwater.
读书时，要吸收有用的内容。
dú shū shí， yào xī shōu yǒu yòng de nèi róng。
When reading, absorb useful content.
5 mini stories
小树吸收阳光，长得更高了。叶子变绿了。
xiǎo shù xī shōu yáng guāng， cháng dé gèng gāo le。 yè zi biàn lǜ le。
The little tree absorbs sunlight and grows taller. The leaves turn green.
小兔用毛巾吸收水。毛巾湿了。
xiǎo tù yòng máo jīn xī shōu shuǐ。 máo jīn shī le。
The bunny uses a towel to absorb water. The towel is wet.
小明认真听课，吸收了很多知识。他考试得了高分。
xiǎo míng rèn zhēn tīng kè， xī shōu le hěn duō zhī shi。 tā kǎo shì dé le gāo fēn。
Xiao Ming listens carefully and absorbs a lot of knowledge. He got a high score on the test.
海绵宝宝吸收水后变重了。它很开心。
hǎi mián bǎo bao xī shōu shuǐ hòu biàn zhòng le。 tā hěn kāi xīn。
SpongeBob absorbs water and becomes heavier. He is very happy.
植物吸收肥料，开出美丽的花。花园很漂亮。
zhí wù xī shōu féi liào， kāi chū měi lì de huā。 huā yuán hěn piào liang。
The plant absorbs fertilizer and blooms beautiful flowers. The garden is lovely.
Mini dialogue
吸收知识
A
上课时，我们要认真吸收知识。
Shàngkè shí, wǒmen yào rènzhēn xī shōu zhīshi.
In class, we must seriously absorb knowledge.
B
是的，多吸收知识才能进步。
Shì de, duō xī shōu zhīshi cáinéng jìnbù.
Yes, only by absorbing more knowledge can we make progress.
吸收营养
A
植物从土壤中吸收水分和营养。
Zhíwù cóng tǔrǎng zhōng xī shōu shuǐfèn hé yíngyǎng.
Plants absorb water and nutrients from the soil.
B
我们也要吃各种食物，吸收营养。
Wǒmen yě yào chī gè zhǒng shíwù, xī shōu yíngyǎng.
We also need to eat various foods to absorb nutrients.
Related words and contrasts
similar
吸取
xī qǔ
to absorb (lessons, nutrients)
吸取 is often used for abstract things like lessons or experience.
related
消化
xiāo huà
to digest
消化 means to digest food or information after absorbing it.
opposite
排除
pái chú
to expel, to eliminate
排除 means to get rid of something, the opposite of absorbing.