创伤

• Pinyin: chuāng shāng
• Hanzi breakdown: 创 = 刂 (knife) + 仓 (storehouse, phonetic) = to wound; 伤 = 亻 (person) + 𬀷 (phonetic) = injury

Meaning

Trauma; wound; injury. Both physical wounds and psychological trauma.

Used in medical contexts for physical injuries and increasingly in psychological contexts for emotional trauma. 心理创伤 (psychological trauma), 创伤后应激障碍 (PTSD) are common phrases. More formal than 伤.

Examples

1. 战争给人们留下了深刻的心理创伤。 War left people with deep psychological trauma.
2. 医生正在处理伤员的创伤。 The doctor is treating the wounded person's injuries.
3. 童年的创伤影响了他一生的性格。 Childhood trauma affected his personality for life.

Usage Guide

Context: medical, psychological, literary

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 这次事故给她造成了严重的心理创伤。(This accident caused her severe psychological trauma.)
• 创伤需要时间来愈合。(Trauma takes time to heal.)

Don't Say

• 我手指上有个小创伤 (For minor cuts, use 伤口 or 划伤 — 创伤 implies more serious injury)

Origin & History

Compound of 创 (to wound, to cut) and 伤 (injury). Both characters relate to physical harm, extended to psychological harm.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal