How to Write 痰 (tán) — Meaning “phlegm; sputum”

Imagine that phlegm (痰) feels like a burning (炎) sensation in your throat when you are sick (疒). The double fire of 炎 can remind you of the irritation and heat that often accompany coughing up phlegm. This visual link helps connect the meaning to both parts of the character.

When writing 痰, note that the radical 疒 has three strokes: a dot, a horizontal stroke, and a curved left-falling stroke covering the right component. The right side 炎 is written as two 火 stacked vertically; make sure the top 火 is slightly smaller and the bottom 火 wider for balance. A common mistake is to make the 炎 too tall or to misplace the dot on the radical.

痰 (tán) specifically means phlegm or sputum, a bodily fluid. 疵 (cī) means a flaw or defect, often in a non-physical sense, and its radical is also 疒 but with a different right side (此). 痊 (quán) means to recover from illness, using the radical 疒 with 全 (complete). Visually, 痰 has a double-fire component (炎) while 疵 has 此 and 痊 has 全, so focus on the right side to distinguish them.

痰 is commonly used in medical contexts, especially in terms like 吐痰 (to spit phlegm) and 咳痰 (to cough up phlegm). In China, public spitting is generally considered impolite and unhealthy, so there are signs in public places like "禁止吐痰" (No Spitting). This character is also found in traditional Chinese medicine, e.g., 化痰 (dissolve phlegm) treatments.

Common words containing 痰 include: 吐痰 (tǔ tán) — to spit phlegm; 咳痰 (ké tán) — to cough up phlegm; 化痰 (huà tán) — Dissolve phlegm.