发汗 (fā hàn) — to perspire, to sweat; (TCM) to induce sweating

Definition

Literally 'to emit sweat,' used both for ordinary perspiring and as a TCM term for inducing sweat as a treatment (e.g. for colds).

verb

to perspireto sweat(TCM) to induce sweating

，，。
Tā gǎn mào le, chī le yì xiē yào, fā le yí cì hàn.
He caught a cold, took some medicine, and sweated once.
发汗。
Yùn dòng hòu fā hàn duì shēn tǐ hěn yǒu hǎo chù.
Sweating after exercise is very beneficial for the body.
发汗。
Zhōng yī cháng yòng fā hàn de fāng fǎ zhì liáo gǎn mào.
Traditional Chinese medicine often uses the method of inducing sweating to treat colds.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

发fāgive off

The sense of give off in 发 and sweat in 汗 together mean to perspire.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

干

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.