Chinese word

瘫痪

Pronunciation

Pinyintān huàn

Meaning

  • verbbe paralyzed

Example

他的腿因为事故瘫痪了。tā de tuǐ yīn wèi shì gù tān huàn le

His leg was paralyzed because of an accident.

Illustration for 瘫痪 (be paralyzed)

More examples

多次断电使城市基础设施陷入瘫痪。duō cì duàn diàn shǐ chéng shì jī chǔ shè shī xiàn rù tān huàn

Repeated power outages paralyzed the city's infrastructure.

Core concept

A body or system loses its normal power to move or operate and becomes completely inactive.

Common phrases

  • 陷入瘫痪xiàn rù tān huàn

    become paralyzed

  • 使城市瘫痪shǐ chéng shì tān huàn

    paralyze a city

Similar words

麻痹má bì: Lose normal feeling or movement as nerve or muscle activity becomes weak.
失灵shī líng: Become unable to work normally when a machine or system malfunctions.
停摆tíng bǎi: Reach a sudden standstill so that a working process or system can no longer function.
停滞tíng zhì: Remain without progress as an activity or process is held up.

Definition in Chinese

因病、损伤或严重故障导致身体或事物丧失正常运动或运行能力，出现不能活动或运转的状态。yīn bìng sǔn shāng huò yán zhòng gù zhàng dǎo zhì shēn tǐ huò shì wù sàng shī zhèng cháng yùn dòng huò yùn xíng néng lì chū xiàn bù néng huó dòng huò yùn zhuǎn de zhuàng tài

Word origin

瘫 (tān, "paralyzed") + 痪 (huàn, "paralyzed") forms a compound in which two closely related terms reinforce the idea of lost movement or function.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, this word marks a severe loss of function rather than a small problem, so it commonly appears with traffic, networks, or services that are brought to a standstill.

Other meanings

  • paralysisnoun
  • shutdownnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 半身瘫痪bàn shēn tān huànone-sided paralysisnoun

Word lists with this word