汗

• Pinyin: hàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 汗 = 氵(water) + 干 (phonetic)

Meaning

Sweat; perspiration. The moisture released through skin pores.

Used literally for perspiration and in many idioms and expressions. 出汗 (to sweat), 汗水 (sweat, effort), 冷汗 (cold sweat from fear). Also used online as exclamation expressing embarrassment.

Examples

1. 跑完步后，他满身是汗。 After running, he was covered in sweat.
2. 这份成绩凝聚了他多年的汗水。 This achievement represents years of his hard work and sweat.
3. 听到这个消息，我吓出一身冷汗。 Hearing this news, I broke out in a cold sweat from fear.

Usage Guide

Context: physical, effort, emotion, internet

Tone: varies

Do Say

• 我出了很多汗。(I sweated a lot.)
• 汗...这也太尴尬了。(Awkward... this is so embarrassing.)

Don't Say

• 我很汗 to mean 'I'm sweating' (say 我出汗了 or 我很热 instead)

Origin & History

Pictophonetic character: 氵(water) + 干 (phonetic), representing water/moisture from the body.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal