How to Write 瘫 (tān) — Meaning “paralyzed”

Imagine a sick person lying in bed (疒) who finds it extremely hard (难) to move — that person is paralyzed. The visual of "sickness" plus "difficult" helps lock in the meaning of 瘫.

Write the radical 疒 first: dot, then left-slanting stroke, then the two strokes inside. The right part 难 requires careful stroke order: starting with the top left (丶 丿) then the rest. A common mistake is making the 难 component too large or misaligning it under the sickness radical — keep it balanced within the frame.

瘫 has 难 (difficult) inside, meaning paralysis. 痰 (phlegm) uses 炎 (two fires) inside, relating to inflammation and mucus. 痱 (prickly heat) contains 非 (not/wrong), describing a skin rash. Visually, the right-side components are unique: 难 vs. 炎 vs. 非.

瘫 appears in medical terms like 瘫痪 (paralysis) and everyday phrases like 瘫坐 (to slump in a chair). It can also describe a system that has shut down figuratively, e.g., 交通瘫痪 (traffic paralysis). Although not a common HSK character, it is important in health and disaster reporting.

Common words containing 瘫 include: 瘫痪 (tān huàn) — paralysis; 瘫坐 (tān zuò) — to slump down in a chair; 软瘫 (ruǎn tān) — To collapse or go limp.