How to Write 喘 (chuǎn) — Meaning “to pant / to gasp”

Imagine a runner who is so tired that he needs to lean against a wall (the left side 口 looks like a square opening, the right side 耑 resembles a person gasping). Think: "The mouth (口) makes heavy breathing sounds when you are out of breath (喘)." This visual helps connect the shape to the meaning of panting.

The left radical 口 should be smaller and positioned higher, not taking up half the character. The right part 耑 has 9 strokes — write the top 山 first, then the bottom 而, ensuring the vertical stroke in 而 is straight. A common mistake is making the 口 too big or misaligning the two parts; keep them balanced side by side.

喘 (chuǎn) means "to pant" and uses the mouth radical, while 㕡 (hè) is an extremely rare character meaning "a hollow" or "valley" and is not used in modern Chinese. 哥 (gē) means "elder brother" and has a completely different structure — two 可 stacked — and no connection to breathing. Visually, 喘 has a mouth on the left, while 哥 has two identical halves and no mouth radical.

喘 appears in everyday expressions like 喘气 (chuǎn qì) for "catching your breath after exercise" and 喘息 (chuǎn xī) for "taking a breather" during a busy day. The medical term 哮喘 (xiāo chuǎn) means Asthma, so you may see 喘 in health contexts. Note that 喘 is not in the HSK list, so it is less common for beginners but essential for talking about breathing difficulties.

Common words containing 喘 include: 喘气 (chuǎn qì) — to breathe heavily / to pant; 喘息 (chuǎn xī) — to pant / to take a breather; 哮喘 (xiāo chuǎn) — Asthma.