汗 (hàn) — sweat, perspiration | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

汗 is a noun for the liquid: sweat/perspiration (一滴汗, 出一身汗). It pairs with 冒 in the common phrase 冒汗 ('to break a sweat'); 汗水 is the compound word for the same substance.

noun

sweatperspiration

Measure word · 滴, 头, 身

Easily confused

Examples

汗。
Yì dī hàn cóng liǎn shàng luò xià lái.
A drop of sweat fell from the face.
，汗。
Xià tiān de zhōng wǔ, wǒ chū le yì shēn hàn.
At summer noon, I broke into a sweat all over.
。
Tā jǐn zhāng dé mǎn tóu dà hàn.
He was so nervous that his head was covered with sweat.

Origin

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

水水shuǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

干

干gān汗hàn

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

汗 has 水, the water form, beside 干; 水 relates to liquid sweat, while 干 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 4 HSK 2.0 Level 4 Fitness & Exercise 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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