瘟 (wēn): epidemic, pestilence, plague, (fig.) stupid, dull, (of a performance) lackluster
瘟 (wēn) is a Chinese character meaning “epidemic.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 疒 (semantic) and 昷 (phonetic). It ranks #2866 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 瘟 sickness. Its radical form 疒 (illness) appears in many related characters such as 医 (yī, medicine), 病 (bìng, illness), 疼 (téng, ache).
Definitions
- epidemic
- pestilence
- plague
- (fig.) stupid
- dull
- (of a performance) lackluster
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 瘟 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 瘟疫 | wēn yì | plague |
| 瘟神 | wēn shén | demon personifying pestilence |
| 五瘟神 | wǔ wēn shén | five chief demons of folklore personifying pestilence |
| 非洲猪瘟 | fēi zhōu zhū wēn | African swine fever |
| 五瘟 | wǔ wēn | five chief demons of folklore personifying pestilence |
| 犬瘟热 | quǎn wēn rè | canine distemper (mammalian disease caused by Canine morbillivirus) |
| 遭瘟 | zāo wēn | to suffer from a plague |
| 猫瘟 | māo wēn | feline panleukopenia |
| 驱瘟 | qū wēn | to expel pestilences |
| 猪瘟 | zhū wēn | swine fever |
| 暑瘟 | shǔ wēn | tropical disease |
瘟 appears in 11 compound words: 18 as the first character, 64 as the last, and 18 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 瘟 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
这个瘟字的意思与它的部首有关。
zhè gě wēn zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .
The meaning of the character "瘟" is related to its radical.
...马温”看传统文化 为何古人相信猴子能防马瘟?|根本月报
. . . mǎ wēn kàn chuán tǒng wén huà wéi hé gǔ rén xiāng xìn hóu zǐ néng fáng mǎ wēn ? gēn běn yuè bào
... Ma Wen: "Look at traditional culture Why did the ancients believe that monkeys can prevent horse plague?| Fundamental monthly report
引爆猪瘟 猪农父子涉伪造文书被诉
yǐn bào zhū wēn zhū nóng fù zǐ shè wěi zào wén shū bèi sù
Detonating swine fever Pig farmer father and son were sued for forging documents
引爆猪瘟起诉/检追犯罪 官员防疫无能遭免职
yǐn bào zhū wēn qǐ sù jiǎn zhuī fàn zuì guān yuán fáng yì wú néng zāo miǎn zhí
Detonating swine fever prosecution/prosecution of crimes Officials were dismissed for their incompetence in epidemic prevention
引爆猪瘟起诉/违规厨余养猪 累犯重罚400万
yǐn bào zhū wēn qǐ sù wéi guī chú yú yǎng zhū lěi fàn chóng fá 4 0 0 wàn
Detonating swine fever prosecution/illegal kitchen waste pig farming Repeat offenders were heavily fined 4 million
引爆猪瘟起诉/上传旧照 嫌犯厨余蒸煮未落实
yǐn bào zhū wēn qǐ sù shàng chuán jiù zhào xián fàn chú yú zhēng zhǔ wèi luò shí
Detonating swine fever prosecution/uploading old photos The suspect's kitchen waste cooking has not been implemented
成千上万的人死于瘟疫。
Chéngqiānshàngwàn de rén sǐ yú wēnyì.
Thousands upon thousands have died from the epidemic.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 瘟 (wēn) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 瘟 have?
What is the radical of 瘟?
What are the components of 瘟?
What are common words containing 瘟?
What characters sound the same as 瘟 (wēn)?
Is 瘟 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 瘟 with real-time feedback
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