Chinese word

阵痛

Pronunciation

Pinyinzhèn tòng

她的阵痛已经间隔很短了，快要生了。tā de zhèn tòng yǐ jīng jiàn gé hěn duǎn le kuài yào shēng le

Her labor pains are already coming close together, and she is about to give birth.

医生建议用镇痛药来缓解阵痛。yī shēng jiàn yì yòng zhèn tòng yào lái huán jiě zhèn tòng

The doctor recommends using pain medication to relieve labor pains.

A recurring wave of childbirth pain that builds, eases, and returns after a short pause.

分娩fēn miǎn: The process of giving birth to a baby.
宫缩gōng suō: Rhythmic tightening and relaxing of the uterus during labor.

分娩时常见的、呈阵发性间歇出现的疼痛。fēn miǎn shí cháng jiàn de chéng zhèn fā xìng jiàn xiē chū xiàn de téng tòng

阵 (zhèn, "a bout") + 痛 (tòng, "pain") forms a compound for childbirth pain that arrives in separate bouts.

In everyday Chinese, this noun usually refers to labor pains, but it can also describe pain that comes in waves elsewhere, so the body part or cause may need to be stated.