瘫

• Pinyin: tān
• Hanzi breakdown: 瘫 = 疒 (sickness) + 难 (difficult, phonetic)

Meaning

To be paralyzed; to collapse (from exhaustion); limp. Physical inability to move or extreme exhaustion.

Medical meaning: paralysis. Colloquial meaning: to collapse from exhaustion (瘫在沙发上, slumped on the sofa). Also used for systems/machines breaking down.

Examples

1. 加班到凌晨三点，回家直接瘫在床上睡着了。 After working overtime until 3 AM, I went home and collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.
2. 他的腿在事故中瘫了，后来做了几次手术才恢复。 His legs were paralyzed in the accident; he needed several surgeries before recovering.
3. 服务器瘫了一整天，客户投诉电话被打爆了。 The server was down for a whole day, and we were flooded with customer complaint calls.

Usage Guide

Context: medical, colloquial

Tone: descriptive

Do Say

• 累瘫了。(I'm completely wiped out.)
• 他瘫在沙发上不想动。(He's slumped on the sofa, not wanting to move.)

Don't Say

• 在正式医学报告中用'瘫'代替'瘫痪' (In formal medical contexts, use the full term 瘫痪)

Origin & History

The character combines 疒 (sickness) with 难 (difficult, phonetic), indicating a debilitating condition.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal