The character 痛 — “painful”: how to write it and what it means
painful; pain
The Chinese character 痛 is read tòng and means “painful; pain”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 痛
痛 has 12 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 痛, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 痛 is made of
On top, 疒 “illness”. Inside, 甬 — as in 通 tōng: it hints at the sound.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 痛
- 头痛have a headache; headacheHSK 4
- 疼痛pain; painfulHSK 5
- 痛苦painful; sufferingHSK 5
- 痛快heartily, to the full; without hesitationHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 痛?
痛 has 12 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 痛 mean?
痛 means “painful; pain”. It appears in 头痛 (“have a headache”), 疼痛 (“pain”), 痛苦 (“painful”), 痛快 (“heartily”).
How do you pronounce 痛?
痛 is read tòng. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 痛 have?
12 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 痛 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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