伤痕 (shāng hén) — scar (on the skin); (figurative) emotional scar | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A scar — both the physical mark left on skin after a wound heals and the lasting emotional imprint of a painful event. 疤 focuses only on the physical mark, while 创伤 leans toward the psychological injury itself.

noun

scar (on the skin)(figurative) emotional scar

Measure word · 道

Examples

伤痕。
Tā liǎn shàng de shāng hén shì xiǎo shí hou bèi māo zhuā de.
The scar on his face is from being scratched by a cat when he was little.
伤痕。
Zhàn zhēng gěi rén men liú xià le shēn shēn de shāng hén.
The war left deep scars on people.
伤痕，。
Zhè dào shāng hén suī rán yǐ jīng dàn le, dàn wǒ hái jì de zěn me lái de.
This scar has faded, but I still remember how it came about.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

伤 (wound) and 痕 (mark) combine to mean the visible trace of an injury.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 傷; 伤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

𥏻

𥏻𥏻傷shāng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傷 shows 人, a person, and uses 𥏻 to give the sound; the simplified 伤 is a later shorthand.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

疒艮痕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nè

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

艮gèn痕hén

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

痕 pairs 疒 with 艮: 疒 gives the sense, and 艮 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Injury & Disability

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