Download ArticleThe ultimate guide on mastering the art of the belch
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This article was co-authored by Marc Kayem, MD and by How.com.vn staff writer, Eric McClure. Dr. Marc Kayem is a board certified Otolaryngologist and Facial Plastic Surgeon based in Beverly Hills, California. He practices and specializes in cosmetic services and sleep-related disorders. He received his Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Ottawa, is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada.
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A burp, also known as a belch (or “eructation” if you want the medical term), is your body's way of releasing small amounts of air you’ve swallowed. Learning how to summon massive burps can be a great way to gross out your friends. On the other hand, if you're attending a fancy event, it helps to know how to control the burp to minimize the sound and avoid offending people. In this article, we’ll explain how to burp on command, how to increase the volume of a burp, and how to hide a burp if you don’t want anyone to notice. Read on to learn more!
Things You Should Know
- Swallow as much air as you can and squeeze your diaphragm by flexing your stomach muscles as you let it out to burp loudly and on demand.
- To increase a burp’s volume, eat food quickly, drink something carbonated, and move around a little bit before tilting your head back and burping loudly.
- Hide your burp by keeping your mouth closed, tucking your head in your sleeve, and slowly letting the “burp” out through your nose.
Steps
Fill your lungs with air and hold it. Take a deep breath the same way you normally would before diving in a pool. Inhale, but don’t exhale—just hold the air in your chest and mouth.[1]- Keep your mouth closed and either hold your nostrils or just don’t breathe.
Swallow as much of the air as you can. This may require some practice. Try to swallow as if you're eating a piece of food. Feel for the mouthfuls of air traveling down your esophagus. In effect, you are transferring air from your lungs into your stomach.[2]- If you’ve got a very sensitive stomach or diaphragm, you may instinctively need to burp right away. If you do, congrats! You now know how to burp on command.
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Repeat the inhale-swallow maneuver until your tummy feels full. Try not to let too much air out as you exhale and make room for more air. Inhale again and swallow the air to continue filling your tummy. If this feels kind of weird at first, you’re probably doing it right! Swallow 2-3 more times until you feel like your stomach is full.[3]- Practice your air-swallowing until you get a good feel for the technique. Soon, you'll be able to mortify your peers on command.
Let out your massive and monstrous burp. Open your mouth and let all the air out to burp. As you let the air out, squeeze with your stomach muscles. This may take some practice. The goal is to squeeze your stomach like a bellows to force the burp out in one loud push. Use your diaphragm and abdominal muscles to firmly (but not violently) push. If done correctly, you'll get a loud belch.[4]- Keep practicing and you’ll get better and better at burping quickly and loudly on demand.
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Fuel your burp by eating a big meal quickly. People normally need to burp because they swallow a bunch of air while they’re eating. So, you can increase your burping power by eating like a wild animal! Grab some food and eat your meal as quickly and loudly as possible. Take big bites, chew with your mouth open, and swallow early and often.[5]- Club soda, pop, beer, or any other carbonated beverage with lots of fizz will also increase the amount of air in your stomach.
- Vegetables are also great if you want to fuel a huge burp.[6]
- Beans, dairy, whole grains, fruit, and onions can all increase the gas in your stomach and cause burps, too.
- The gas from a huge burp will contain gas from the food you've eaten. For truly horrifying odor combinations, experiment with different foods!
Stand up to allow the gas and air to reach the top of your stomach. If you can't stand, at least sit up. If you're not upright, the air and gas in your stomach may accumulate in your lower digestive tract and you may just end up farting.[7]- Yes, believe it or not, your burps and your farts are basically the same gases. The only question is whether your body digests the gases and air or not. If the air and gas float up to your stomach, you burp it out. If you digest the air and gas, you’ll experience flatulence.
Move around to agitate the gases in your stomach. Jump up and down or do a few jumping jacks. This will throw everything in your stomach around and rattle the gases. If you've had any carbonated beverages, it'll make them fizz and release gas like you're shaking a can of soda.[8]- Don’t exercise so hard that you get nauseous. Just move around a bit.
Tilt your upper body back to project the burp. As soon as you feel that bloating feeling coming on, inhale and exhale deeply. Shift your upper body back and tilt your head like you’re going to scream at the top of your lungs. Keep your mouth open as you get ready to burp.[9]- Keeping your mouth open does two things. First, it makes the burp look more impressive. Second, the cavern-like acoustics of a wide-open mouth will make your burp louder.
Burp loudly and flex your stomach muscles. Open your mouth and push all of the air and gas out. Squeeze your stomach while you’re doing this to force the burp out in a loud, projected push. Use your diaphragm and abdominal muscles to firmly (but not violently) push. If you do it correctly, you'll get a loud barking sound.[10]- For longer burps, try to release the burp gradually and with less force. It can be challenging to strike a precise balance. Push too hard, and your burp will be too short. Push too softly, and your burp will die out.
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Avoid the need to burp at all by eating a small meal slowly. Here, we’ll cover how to burp as quietly as possible to avoid breaking any social etiquette. However, it’s best to avoid the need to burp if you can. To do this, avoid eating large portions, eat and drink slowly, and keep your mouth closed as you chew.[11]- Avoid carbonated beverages and don’t eat anything especially fatty or greasy if you don’t want to burp.
Close your mouth right and lean into your sleeve. If you can, lift your elbow up and tuck your mouth into your arm. Keep your mouth closed and lean away from any other people you’re hanging out with.[12]- If you can’t tuck your head in your arm, just keep your mouth closed and look away.
Let the “burp” come out slowly through your nose. Burps that come out through your nose are almost completely silent. The sound you’ll make is more like a loud breath, though you will have all the unpleasant odor of the burp.[13]- Just FYI, if you have a stuffy nose, you may not be able to do this.
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Community Q&A
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- QuestionHow can I make a really big burp?
Community AnswerDrink lots of soda or other bubbly drinks, quickly. Lots of bubbles make a big burp. Eating food and flushing down with lots of soda can also help make one big burp. - QuestionWhy would anyone want to burp?Community AnswerSome people think it's funny. In other cases, burping can help relieve discomfort from gas in your stomach.
- QuestionWhy would someone need to burp?
Community AnswerTo release gas from the body.
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Tips
- If you accidentally burp loudly in front of people, just quickly apologize and say, "Excuse me" to be polite.Thanks
Tips from our Readers 
The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of How.com.vn readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on How.com.vn, please submit it in the field below.
- Make sure the people you burp around are comfortable with it. You don't want to ruin something as important as a first date.
- Tilt your head back and swallow. Then, right away open your mouth and you should have to burp.
- Don’t hold on to your burp for too long, or you may just end up with a stomachache.
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Warnings
- Excessive burping, especially accompanied by other symptoms, can be a sign of certain medical conditions. If you are experiencing constant burping along with any of the following symptoms, talk to your doctor:[14]
- Pain
- Heartburn
- Weight loss
- Nausea
- Loss of appetite
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References
- ↑ https://www.self.com/story/excessive-burping-causes
- ↑ https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=tm6320
- ↑ https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=tm6320
- ↑ https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-are-burps-so-loud-108988
- ↑ https://www.uptodate.com/contents/overview-of-intestinal-gas-and-bloating
- ↑ https://www.health.com/condition/digestive-health/cause-of-burping-health
- ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/gas.html
- ↑ https://www.health.com/condition/digestive-health/cause-of-burping-health
- ↑ https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-are-burps-so-loud-108988
- ↑ https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-are-burps-so-loud-108988
- ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/burp.html
- ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/burp.html
- ↑ https://kidshealth.org/en/kids/burp.html
- ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gas-and-gas-pains/in-depth/gas-and-gas-pains/art-20044739
About This Article
Sleep Specialist
This article was co-authored by Marc Kayem, MD and by How.com.vn staff writer, Eric McClure. Dr. Marc Kayem is a board certified Otolaryngologist and Facial Plastic Surgeon based in Beverly Hills, California. He practices and specializes in cosmetic services and sleep-related disorders. He received his Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Ottawa, is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology, and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada. This article has been viewed 1,572,915 times.
Co-authors: 116
Updated: April 19, 2024
Views: 1,572,915
Categories: Featured Articles | Discreet Bodily Etiquette
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,572,915 times.
Reader Success Stories
"My husband needs to burp all the time. Now, with your advice, it's so clear. Like, duh, why didn't I think of that? Really people, this advice is true to me. Would give a 20. Keep it up! To all burpers out there, read on, ok? Seriously."..." more
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