Chinese word

抽筋

Pronunciation

Pinyinchōu jīn

Meaning

  • verbcramp up

Example

晚上腿突然抽筋，很疼。wǎn shàng tuǐ tū rán chōu jīn hěn téng

My leg suddenly cramps up at night, and it hurts a lot.

Illustration for 抽筋 (cramp up)

More examples

跑步时我突然小腿抽筋，只好慢慢走回家。pǎo bù shí wǒ tū rán xiǎo tuǐ chōu jīn zhí hǎo màn màn zǒu huí jiā

I suddenly got a calf cramp while running, so I had to walk slowly home.

Core concept

A muscle suddenly pulls tight and gives a short, painful twitch.

Common phrases

  • 小腿抽筋xiǎo tuǐ chōu jīn

    get a calf cramp

  • 跑步时抽筋pǎo bù shí chōu jīn

    get a cramp while running

  • 运动后抽筋yùn dòng hòu chōu jīn

    get a cramp after exercise

Similar words

痉挛jìng luán: A muscle goes into a strong involuntary spasm that can hurt or weaken movement.
抽搐chōu chù: A muscle makes small, repeated movements that cannot be controlled.

Definition in Chinese

肌肉突然收缩或抽动，感觉被拉紧并伴随短暂疼痛或痉挛，通常为暂时性现象。jī ròu tū rán shōu suō huò chōu dòng gǎn jué bèi lā jǐn bìng bàn suí duǎn zàn téng tòng huò jìng luán tōng cháng wèi zàn shí xìng xiàn xiàng

Word origin

抽筋 (chōujīn, "cramp") combines 抽 (chōu, "pull") + 筋 (jīn, "muscle or tendon"), picturing a muscle pulled tight.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, the affected body part often comes before the verb, while the person is understood as its owner, making the location easy to state naturally.

Other meanings

  • crampnoun

Word lists with this word