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镇痛 (zhèn tòng) — to relieve pain, to alleviate pain

Definition

A clinical term meaning 'relieve pain,' usually about medicine or treatment (镇痛药/效果). Unlike 止痛 zhǐtòng, it is more formal and used in medical contexts.

verb
to relieve painto alleviate pain

Examples

  • 镇痛。
    Yī shēng gěi tā yòng le zhèn tòng yào.
    The doctor gave him pain-relief medication.
  • 。
    Shǒu shù hòu xū yào xiān zhèn zhù tòng.
    After surgery you need to relieve the pain first.
  • 镇痛。
    Zhè zhǒng zhēn jì de zhèn tòng xiào guǒ hěn hǎo.
    This injection has a good pain-relief effect.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

镇zhènsuppress
痛tòngpain

镇痛 uses 镇 (suppress) with 痛 (pain) to mean relieve pain.

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 鎮; 镇 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
金金jīnmetal
Sound part声符shēngfú
真
真zhēn鎮zhèn
Same sound today

The traditional form 鎮 uses 金, metal, and 真, which gave its sound; it depicted pressing down with a metal weight. The simplified 镇 is a later abbreviation.

Open 镇 →

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
疒疒nèillness
Sound part声符shēngfú
甬
甬yǒng痛tòng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The 疒 part means illness, and 甬 gives the sound; together they form 痛, meaning pain or hurt.

Open 痛 →
Appears in
Medicine & Treatment

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