Chinese word

瘫

Pronunciation

Pinyintān

Meaning

  • verbgo limp

Example

他生病了，整个人都瘫在床上。tā shēng bìng le zhěng gè rén dōu tān zài chuáng shàng

He is sick, and he lies limp on the bed.

Illustration for 瘫 (go limp)

More examples

搬完重物后，他双腿一软，瘫在地上。bān wán zhòng wù hòu tā shuāng tuǐ yì ruǎn tān zài dì shàng

After carrying the heavy load, his legs gave way, and he lay limp on the ground.

Core concept

A body loses its support and sinks into a position from which movement becomes difficult.

Common phrases

  • 瘫在床上tān zài chuáng shàng

    lie limp on the bed

  • 瘫在沙发上tān zài shā fā shàng

    lie limp on the sofa

Similar words

瘫痪tān huàn: Become unable to move because part of the body or a bodily function is paralyzed.
倒下dǎo xià: Fall suddenly from a standing position onto the ground or floor.
晕倒yūn dǎo: Lose consciousness and fall to the ground or floor.
躺下tǎng xià: Move into a lying position with the body flat on a bed or floor.

Definition in Chinese

因病或过度疲劳导致全身或局部无力，常倒卧、半躺或瘫坐在某处，短时间难以起身或活动。yīn bìng huò guò dù pí láo dǎo zhì quán shēn huò jú bù wú lì cháng dào wò bàn tǎng huò tān zuò zài mǒu chù duǎn shí jiān nán yǐ qǐ shēn huò huó dòng

Word origin

The character 瘫 (tān, "go limp") is the simplified form of 癱 (tān, "go limp"), with the illness radical linking the word to bodily weakness and the remaining part mainly marking its sound.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, the word can describe extreme tiredness as well as illness, so it may appear in casual comments about being unable to move after a long day.

Other meanings

  • lose strengthverb
  • collapseverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word