呻 (shēn) · to groan; to moan (in pain)

Meanings

1 to groan; to moan (in pain)
2 to chant; to recite

Characters

呻

shēn

to groan; to moan

Examples

HSK 7-9

病人躺在床上，痛苦地呻吟。

Bìngrén tǎng zài chuángshàng, tòngkǔ de shēnyín.

The patient lay in bed, groaning softly with pain.

HSK 7-9

无病呻吟是无聊做作的表现。

Wúbìng shēnyín shì wúliáo zuòzuo de biǎoxiàn.

To moan and sigh without being ill is the mark of empty, affected writing.

Tips

usage

Always in 呻吟 (to moan / groan). The idiom 无病呻吟 - 'moaning without being sick' - criticizes art or writing that fakes deep emotion it doesn't really feel.

register

The 'to chant / recite' sense is literary and archaic. In modern Chinese 呻 survives almost only in 呻吟 (to moan / groan).

Components

radical

口 kǒu

mouth

Mouth radical on the left, 口. It marks a sound made by the mouth - here a low moan of pain. Same family as 吟 to chant (its partner in 呻吟), 叹 to sigh, 喊 to shout.

phonetic

申 shēn

to state; (9th earthly branch)

Right side 申 supplies the sound shēn directly. Same phonetic in 伸 to stretch and 神 spirit; here it lends only its reading.