癌 meaning and stroke order
Cancer; (esp.) carcinoma
How to write 癌, stroke by stroke
17 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 癌
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- cancer; (esp.) carcinoma
How 癌 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Sickness.
疒 gives the meaning and 嵒 hints at the sound.
Radical: 疒 (sickness), shared by 127 characters on this site.
How to remember 癌
The sickness radical 疒 covers 嵒, which looks like three mouths (品) stacked on a mountain (山). Picture hard, lumpy growths piling up like rocks inside the body, a sickness that forms lumps: cancer.
癌 (ái) usually appears in compound words rather than alone. It attaches to a body part to name a specific cancer, as in 肺癌 (fèi'ái) or 乳腺癌 (rǔxiàn'ái), while 癌症 (áizhèng) is the general word. Example: 他得了肺癌。(Tā dé le fèi'ái.) He got lung cancer.
Common mistake: Learners often say this with a third tone, like 矮 (ǎi, short), but 癌 is second tone ái. In Taiwan you may also hear the older reading yán, so do not be confused if a speaker from there says it differently.
Common words with 癌
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
癌 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 癌
How many strokes are in 癌?
癌 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 癌 mean?
癌 (ái) means cancer; (esp.) carcinoma. A common word with it is 癌症 (áizhèng), meaning "cancer".
How do you pronounce 癌?
癌 is pronounced ái, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 癌?
The radical of 癌 is 疒, which carries the idea of "sickness". Dictionaries list 癌 under this radical.
Is 癌 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 癌 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What verb do you use with 癌 to say someone has cancer?
The most common verb is 得 (dé), as in 得了癌症 (dé le áizhèng), to get cancer. You can also say 患 (huàn) in more formal writing, as in 患癌 (huàn ái).
Is 癌 used figuratively in Chinese?
Yes. Like in English, 癌 can describe something harmful that spreads in society, for example 社会的毒瘤 is more common, but people also say 某某是社会之癌, meaning it is the cancer of society.