痰

• Pinyin: tán
• Hanzi breakdown: 痰 = 疒 (sickness) + 炎 (flame, phonetic)

Meaning

Phlegm; sputum. Mucus expelled from the respiratory system.

The medical term for phlegm. Important in traditional Chinese medicine, where excessive 痰 is considered a pathological condition. Also appears in public health contexts (禁止随地吐痰, no spitting).

Examples

1. 感冒快好的时候，咳出来的痰会比较浓。 When a cold is almost over, the phlegm you cough up tends to be thicker.
2. 禁止随地吐痰是最基本的公共卫生要求。 No spitting in public is the most basic public health requirement.
3. 中医认为痰湿体质的人容易发胖，需要祛湿化痰。 Traditional Chinese medicine believes people with phlegm-dampness constitutions tend to gain weight easily and need to eliminate dampness and phlegm.

Usage Guide

Context: medical, health

Tone: clinical

Do Say

• 咳痰有血要去检查。(If you're coughing up blood in your phlegm, you should get it checked.)
• 不要随地吐痰。(Don't spit on the ground.)

Don't Say

• 在吃饭时讨论痰 (It's impolite to discuss phlegm during meals)

Origin & History

The character combines 疒 (sickness) with 炎 (flame/inflammation, phonetic).

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal