呻 (shēn): to groan; to moan (in pain)

Meanings

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

Characters

呻

shēn

to groan; to moan

Examples

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.

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.

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.