癫 meaning and stroke order
Crazy, insane; madness, mania
How to write 癫, stroke by stroke
21 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 癫
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- mentally deranged
- crazy
How 癫 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Sickness.
疒 gives the meaning and 颠 hints at the sound.
Radical: 疒 (sickness), shared by 127 characters on this site.
How to remember 癫
癫 is pictophonetic. The sickness radical 疒 wraps around 颠 (diān), which gives the sound, so think of an illness that turns your head upside down, since 颠 also means to topple.
癫 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It appears mostly in words like 疯癫 (fēngdiān) crazy, 疯疯癫癫 (fēngfengdiāndiān) erratic, and the medical term 癫痫 (diānxián) epilepsy. Example: 他整天疯疯癫癫的。(Tā zhěngtiān fēngfengdiāndiān de.) He acts crazy all day.
Common mistake: Learners often write 颠 (diān) when they mean 癫, because the two sound identical. 颠 means to jolt or topple, as in 颠倒 (diāndǎo) upside down, while 癫 with the 疒 radical is about mental illness.
Common words with 癫
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 癫痫 | diānxián | epilepsy | |
| 疯疯癫癫 | fēngfengdiāndiān | deranged; erratic | |
| 疯癫 | fēngdiān | insane; crazy |
Questions about 癫
How many strokes are in 癫?
癫 is written with 21 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 癫 mean?
癫 (diān) means crazy, insane; madness, mania. A common word with it is 癫痫 (diānxián), meaning "epilepsy".
How do you pronounce 癫?
癫 is pronounced diān, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 癫?
The radical of 癫 is 疒, which carries the idea of "sickness". Dictionaries list 癫 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 癫?
The traditional form of 癫 is 癲. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 癫 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 癫痫 an offensive word for epilepsy?
No. 癫痫 (diānxián) is the standard medical term used by doctors and in hospitals. In casual speech some people also say 羊癫疯 (yángdiānfēng), but that sounds old-fashioned and less polite.
What is the difference between 疯 and 癫?
Both relate to madness and share the 疒 radical. 疯 (fēng) is far more common on its own, as in 你疯了 (nǐ fēng le) you are crazy, while 癫 usually appears inside compounds such as 疯癫.