Practise the thinking. Keep the judgement.
疼 and 痛: describing pain
Original Chinese study material with English explanations. Simplified Chinese with pinyin; beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial difficulty labels.
疼 (téng) and 痛 (tòng) both describe pain. Body part + 疼 is common in conversation; 痛 appears in many compounds such as 头痛 (headache).
我的牙疼。
Wǒ de yá téng.
My tooth hurts.
他今天头痛。
Tā jīntiān tóutòng.
He has a headache today.
These are language examples, not a diagnosis. 心疼 can express feeling sorry for someone or cherishing them, rather than literal chest pain.
Try it
What does 牙疼 describe?
- Tooth pain
- A sore foot
- Hunger
Answer and explanation
Tooth pain. 牙 means tooth and 疼 means hurt.