癥 meaning and stroke order
Ailment, disease, illness
How to write 癥, stroke by stroke
20 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
Meaning of 癥
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- abdominal tumor
- bowel obstruction
- (fig.) sticking point
How 癥 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Sickness.
疒 gives the meaning and 徵 hints at the sound.
Radical: 疒 (sickness), shared by 127 characters on this site.
How to remember 癥
The sickness radical 疒 wraps around 徵 (zhēng), which gives the sound. Picture a sickness that shows clear signs (徵 can mean a sign or symptom) and you have 癥, an ailment.
癥 is the traditional form used in compounds like 癥結, where it is read zhēng and means a hard abdominal lump or, figuratively, the crux of a problem. In simplified Chinese it is written 症. Example: 問題的癥結在這裡。(Wèntí de zhēngjié zài zhèlǐ.) The crux of the problem is here.
Common mistake: Learners often read 癥結 with the fourth tone as zhèngjié. In this word the character takes the first tone, zhēngjié. Also do not confuse the phonetic part 徵 with the similar-looking 微 (wēi), which has no short stroke on top of the 王-like middle.
Common words with 癥
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 癥結 | zhēngjié | hard lump in the abdomen (in Chinese medicine); crux of an issue | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 癥
How many strokes are in 癥?
癥 is written with 20 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 癥 mean?
癥 (zhèng) means ailment, disease, illness. A common word with it is 症结 (zhēngjié), meaning "hard lump in the abdomen (in Chinese medicine); crux of an issue".
How do you pronounce 癥?
癥 is pronounced zhèng, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 癥?
The radical of 癥 is 疒, which carries the idea of "sickness". Dictionaries list 癥 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 癥?
癥 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 症, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 癥 the same as 症?
In simplified Chinese both are written 症. Traditionally, 症 (zhèng) is used for symptoms and illness, as in 症狀, while 癥 (zhēng) appears in words like 癥結. So in traditional texts they are kept apart.
When is 癥 read zhēng and when zhèng?
The zhēng reading covers the senses of abdominal tumor, bowel obstruction, and sticking point, as in 癥結. The zhèng reading matches the general meaning of ailment or disease, which is usually written 症.