刮痧

guāshā

noun #68,545

Meanings

1 gua sha (TCM scraping therapy)

Characters

heatstroke, skin eruption

Examples

她肩膀酸,做了一次刮痧。

Tā jiānbǎng suān, zuò le yī cì guāshā.

Her shoulders ached so she had a gua sha session.

刮痧后背上会出现红色的痧痕。

Guāshā hòu bèi shàng huì chūxiàn hóngsè de shāhén.

After gua sha, red marks appear on the back.

中暑的时候老人会帮你刮痧。

Zhòngshǔ de shíhou lǎorén huì bāng nǐ guāshā.

When you have heatstroke, elders will do gua sha on you.

Tips

culture

刮痧 uses a smooth-edged tool (water buffalo horn, jade, or ceramic spoon) to repeatedly scrape oiled skin until red petechiae (痧) surface, believed to release pathogenic 'wind'. The 2001 Chinese-American film 《刮痧》 dramatized a cultural-misunderstanding case where it was mistaken for child abuse in the US.

Stroke Order

刮 guā

痧 shā