瘫痪

• Pinyin: tān huàn
• Hanzi breakdown: 瘫 = 疒 + 难; 痪 = 疒 (sickness) + 奂 (phonetic)

Meaning

To be paralyzed; paralysis; to be crippled. Complete loss of function in body or system.

Medical term for paralysis (loss of muscle function). Also used metaphorically for systems, traffic, or organizations that have completely stopped functioning.

Examples

1. 他因为脊椎受伤导致下半身瘫痪，但从未放弃希望。 He was paralyzed from the waist down due to a spinal injury, but he never gave up hope.
2. 暴风雪让整个城市的交通陷入瘫痪。 The blizzard brought the entire city's transportation to a standstill.
3. 网络攻击导致公司的系统全面瘫痪，损失惨重。 A cyber attack caused the company's systems to completely crash, resulting in severe losses.

Usage Guide

Context: medical, news, systems

Tone: serious

Do Say

• 交通瘫痪了。(Traffic is completely paralyzed.)
• 他不幸瘫痪了。(Unfortunately, he became paralyzed.)

Don't Say

• 用'瘫痪'形容轻微故障 (瘫痪 implies total breakdown — for minor issues, use 故障 or 出问题)

Origin & History

瘫 and 痪 both relate to paralysis/weakness. The doubling emphasizes complete loss of function.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal