痛 (tòng): pain
痛 (tòng) is a Chinese character meaning “pain.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 疒 (semantic) and 甬 (phonetic). It ranks #730 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 痛 sickness. Its radical form 疒 (illness) appears in many related characters such as 医 (yī, medicine), 病 (bìng, illness), 疼 (téng, ache).
Definitions
- pain
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 痛 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 痛
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 痛苦adjective | tòng kǔ | pain | 5 |
| 疼痛adjective | téng tòng | pain | 5 |
| 头痛adjective | tóu tòng | to have a headache | 4 |
| 痛快adjective | tòng kuài | delighted | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 悲痛 | bēi tòng | grieved |
| 痛恨 | tòng hèn | to detest |
| 止痛药 | zhǐ tòng yào | painkiller |
| 伤痛 | shāng tòng | pain (from wound) |
| 痛楚 | tòng chǔ | pain |
| 痛不欲生 | tòng bù yù shēng | to be so in pain as to not want to live |
| 痛打 | tòng dǎ | to beat sb soundly |
| 病痛 | bìng tòng | slight illness |
| 痛哭 | tòng kū | to cry bitterly |
| 痛心 | tòng xīn | grieved |
| 惨痛 | cǎn tòng | bitter |
| 止痛 | zhǐ tòng | to relieve pain |
| 痛处 | tòng chù | sore spot |
| 苦痛 | kǔ tòng | pain |
| 止痛片 | zhǐ tòng piàn | painkiller |
痛 appears in 100 compound words: 35 as the first character, 49 as the last, and 16 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 痛 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (16)
to be badly injured and in great pain; to suffer from great loss and deep distress
to be overwhelmed with grief to the extent that one can not go on living
to recall one's painful experience after the sorrow has passed, often to learn a lesson from the bitter experience
to sincerely mend one's ways; to thoroughly rectify one's errors; to turn over a new leaf
to recall one's painful experience after the sorrow has passed, often to learn a lesson from the bitter experience
Showing 12 of 16 idioms containing 痛.
Example Sentences
头痛得厉害，可能是昨晚没睡好。
Tóutòng de lìhai, kěnéng shì zuó wǎn méi shuì hǎo.
I have a severe headache; probably didn't sleep well last night.
...打點、森下翔太開轟4打點 日本隊首場實戰痛宰軟銀
. . . dǎ 點 sēn xià xiáng tài 開 轟 dǎ 點 rì běn 隊 shǒu 場 實 戰 tòng zǎi 軟 銀
...Shota Morishita smashes a home run with 4 RBIs as Japan's first exhibition game thrashes the SoftBank Hawks.
牙痛要注意!日本研究:長者「蛀牙不治療」死亡...
yá tòng yāo zhù yì ! rì běn yán jiū 長 zhě 蛀 yá bù zhì 療 sǐ wáng . . .
Beware of toothaches! Japanese study: Elderly who "leave cavities untreated" face increased risk of death...
不會痛≠沒事!醫曝2殘酷情況:腫瘤恐「大到頂...
bù 會 tòng 沒 shì ! 醫 pù 殘 kù qíng 況 腫 liú kǒng dà dào 頂 . . .
No pain ≠ no problem! Doctor reveals 2 grim scenarios: Tumors may grow "so large they press against..."
川普執政週年民調崩盤!64%痛批關稅誤國
chuān pǔ 執 zhèng 週 nián mín 調 bēng 盤 ! tòng pī 關 稅 誤 國
Trump's polls collapse on his first anniversary! 64% criticize tariffs as misguided
小江蕙81歲母親初二離世!陳思安忍3天痛揭噩耗:爸媽天上團聚了
xiǎo jiāng 蕙 歲 mǔ 親 chū èr 離 shì ! 陳 sī ān rěn tiān tòng jiē 噩 hào bà 媽 tiān shàng 團 jù le
Jasmine's 81 year old mother passed away on the second day of the month! The first time I've ever seen my mother die, I've never seen her again!
什么痛苦能让你想用酒精去麻醉自己？
Shénme tòngkǔ néng ràng nǐ xiǎng yòng jiǔjīng qù mázuì zìjǐ?
What pain are you trying to cover up with alcohol?
咳嗽的时候会痛吗？
Késou de shíhou huì tòng ma?
Does it hurt when you cough?
好痛！被门夹到手指了！
Hǎo tòng! Bèi mén jiā dào shǒuzhǐ le!
Ouch! My finger got caught in the door.
你发烧和喉咙痛吗?
Nǐ fāshāo hé hóulóng tòng ma?
Do you have a fever and a sore throat?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 痛 (tòng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 痛 and 勇?
How many strokes does 痛 have?
What is the radical of 痛?
What are the components of 痛?
What are common words containing 痛?
What characters sound the same as 痛 (tòng)?
Is 痛 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 痛 with real-time feedback
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