Meaning of 痛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- ache
- pain
- sorrow
- deeply
- thoroughly
How to use 痛
痛 describes physical pain, especially in set words like 头痛 (tóutòng, headache), and it also covers emotional pain as in 悲痛 (bēitòng). As an adverb it means doing something deeply or thoroughly, as in 痛哭 (tòngkū, to cry bitterly). Example: 我的牙很痛。(Wǒ de yá hěn tòng.) My tooth really hurts.
痛 (tòng) sits under the sickness radical 疒, the slanted roof of a sick bed, with 甬 (yǒng) inside giving the sound. Picture someone lying in a sickbed groaning "tòng" because it hurts.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 痛 with 疼 (téng). Both mean to hurt, but in everyday speech northerners usually say 疼, while 痛 sounds a bit more formal or written and appears more in fixed compounds like 痛苦 and 痛心. Also, do not assume 痛快 (tòngkuài) is about pain, since it means delighted or to one's heart's content.
痛 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.
痛 tòng · ache · 12 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Related words
Words that share a character with 痛.
| 痛苦 | tòngkǔ | pain; suffering |
| 痛快 | tòngkuài | delighted; to one's heart's content |
| 疼痛 | téngtòng | pain; (of a body part) to be painful; to be sore; to hurt |
| 悲痛 | bēitòng | grieved; sorrowful |
| 痛心 | tòngxīn | grieved; pained |
| 惨痛 | cǎntòng | bitter; painful |
| 头痛 | tóutòng | to have a headache |
| 痛恨 | tònghèn | to detest; to loathe |
| 心痛 | xīntòng | to feel distressed about sth; heartache |
| 伤痛 | shāngtòng | pain (from wound); sorrow |
| 止痛药 | zhǐtòngyào | painkiller; analgesic |
| 痛楚 | tòngchǔ | pain; anguish |
Questions about 痛
What does 痛 mean?
痛 (tòng) means "ache; pain" and is used as a adjective and adverb.
How do you write 痛?
痛 is made of 1 character: 痛 (12 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 痛 an HSK word?
Yes. 痛 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 痛快 mean happy when 痛 means pain?
In 痛快 the 痛 works like the adverb sense of thoroughly or to the fullest. So 痛快 means doing something fully and freely, which gives the feeling of delight, as in 玩得很痛快 (wán de hěn tòngkuài, had a great time).
How do I say that a part of my body hurts with 痛?
Put the body part first, then 痛, often with 很 or 有点儿: 我肚子有点儿痛 (Wǒ dùzi yǒudiǎnr tòng), my stomach hurts a little. You can also use compounds like 头痛 or 胃痛 (wèitòng, stomachache).