How to Write 痛 (tòng) — Meaning “pain; ache”

Imagine a person (甬, like a figure) lying sick in bed under the illness radical 疒, groaning in pain. The shape of 甬 can be seen as a person with a curved back from an ache. This visual connects the idea of illness and a suffering body to the character's meaning of pain.

The left radical 疒 is written first: dot, then horizontal stroke ending with a downward left-falling stroke. The right part 甬 has a balanced structure; ensure the top '用' is not too wide and the bottom '㇣' (like a hook) is centered. A common mistake is making the right side too tall or misaligning the vertical strokes.

痛 means general pain or ache, while 疰 (zhù) refers to a chronic disease or a type of summer heat illness, and 疱 (pào) means blister or pimple. Visually, 痛 has 甬 on the right, 疰 has 主 (master) on the right, and 疱 has 包 (wrap) on the right. They share the illness radical but have different phonetic components and meanings.

痛 is commonly used for physical pain like 头痛 (headache) or 肚子痛 (stomachache). It also appears in emotional contexts, such as 痛苦 (painful) or 悲痛 (grief). Culturally, Chinese people often express discomfort directly using 痛 instead of euphemisms, making it an important word for describing both physical and emotional suffering.

Common words containing 痛 include: 头痛 (tóu tòng) — headache; 肚子痛 (dù zi tòng) — Stomachache; belly ache.; 牙痛 (yá tòng) — Toothache.