Chinese word

痉挛

Pronunciation

Pinyinjìng luán

Meaning

  • verbcramp

Example

洗澡时他的脚突然痉挛了。xí zǎo shí tā de jiǎo tū rán jìng luán le

His leg suddenly cramped while he was taking a bath.

Illustration for 痉挛 (cramp)

More examples

跑步后我的腿有点儿痉挛。pǎo bù hòu wǒ de tuǐ yóu diǎnr jìng luán

My leg cramped a little after running.

Core concept

A muscle or body part suddenly tightens on its own, often with brief pain or discomfort.

Common phrases

  • 腿痉挛tuǐ jìng luán

    leg cramp

  • 腹部痉挛fù bù jìng luán

    abdominal cramp

  • 夜间痉挛yè jiān jìng luán

    nighttime cramp

Similar words

抽筋chōu jīn: Suffer a sudden muscle cramp that brings sharp pain.
抽搐chōu chù: Show repeated, short, quick twitching movements in a muscle.

Definition in Chinese

肌肉或身体某部位突然不由自主地收缩或抽动，常伴有短暂的疼痛或不适。jī ròu huò shēn tǐ mǒu bù wèi tū rán bù yóu zì zhǔ dì shōu suō huò chōu dòng cháng bàn yǒu duǎn zàn de téng tòng huò bú shì

Word origin

痉 (jìng, "spasm") + 挛 (luán, "contract") combines two ideas of abnormal tightening into a word for a sudden involuntary contraction.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, a sudden tight feeling in an arm or leg is often described with simpler wording, while this term fits medical descriptions and formal explanations.

Other meanings

  • convulsionnoun

Opposites

Word lists with this word