Meaning of 疼
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (it) hurts; sore
- to love dearly
How to use 疼
疼 is the everyday word for something hurting, usually placed after the body part: 头疼 (tóuténg) headache, 肚子疼 (dùzi téng) stomachache. It can also mean to love and care for someone, as in 疼爱 (téng'ài). Example: 我的腿很疼。(Wǒ de tuǐ hěn téng.) My leg hurts a lot.
疼 is made of the sickness radical 疒 plus 冬 (dōng, winter). Picture being sick in the cold of winter, when every joint aches and hurts.
Common mistake: Learners often say 我疼头 for "my head hurts," but the body part comes first: 我头疼 (wǒ tóu téng). Also do not confuse 疼 with 痛 (tòng); both mean pain, but 疼 is more colloquial in speech.
疼 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
疼 téng · hurts · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 疼.
Questions about 疼
What does 疼 mean?
疼 (téng) means "(it) hurts; sore; to love dearly" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 疼?
疼 is made of 1 character: 疼 (10 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 疼 an HSK word?
Yes. 疼 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 疼 and 痛?
Both mean "to hurt." 疼 is more common in casual spoken Mandarin, especially in the north, while 痛 sounds a bit more formal or written and appears in words like 痛苦 (tòngkǔ, suffering). They combine in 疼痛 (téngtòng) pain.
How does 疼 mean "to love"?
疼 can describe tender, protective love, usually from elders toward children, as in 奶奶最疼我 (Nǎinai zuì téng wǒ), Grandma loves me the most. 心疼 (xīnténg) means to feel sorry for someone or to hate seeing something wasted.