How to Write 呻 (shēn) — Meaning “to groan / to moan”

Imagine someone stretching their mouth wide like a "申" (a long vertical line) to let out a painful groan. You can picture the left mouth (口) and the right vertical stretch (申) together as a person moaning in discomfort.

The stroke order starts with the left radical 口 (vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal), then the right side 申 (horizontal, vertical, horizontal fold, vertical, horizontal). The most common mistake is making the central vertical stroke too short; it should extend through the top and bottom horizontals of the 申 component.

呻 means to groan or moan, with a mouth radical and phonetic 申. 吁 means to sigh or shout, with a mouth and 于 (yú) phonetic, and is used for exhalations. 吂 is rare and means unclear or elderly, with a mouth and 亡 (wáng) phonetic; it is not used for sounds of pain.

呻 appears mainly in formal or literary expressions like 呻吟 (shēn yín) for groaning in pain, often used in medical or descriptive writing. It is not common in daily conversation; a more casual word is 叫 (jiào, to shout). In Chinese poetry, 呻吟 can evoke suffering or hardship.

Common words containing 呻 include: 呻吟 (shēn yín) — to groan / to moan; 呻唤 (shēn huàn) — to groan / to moan; 呻吟声 (shēn yín shēng) — the sound of groaning.