呻吟

shēnyín

verb/noun #9,527

Meanings

1 to moan; to groan
2 a moan; a groan

Characters

to moan; to groan

to chant; to hum; to moan

Both characters have the mouth radical (口) and relate to vocal sounds — moan + groan.

Examples

病人痛苦地呻吟着。

Bìngrén tòngkǔ de shēnyínzhe.

The patient was moaning in pain.

他听到远处传来一阵呻吟声。

Tā tīng dào yuǎnchù chuán lái yī zhèn shēnyín shēng.

He heard a groan coming from the distance.

伤员在地上呻吟。

Shāngyuán zài dì shàng shēnyín.

The wounded soldier was groaning on the ground.

Tips

usage

呻吟 typically describes sounds of pain, suffering, or distress. It's used in both medical and literary contexts. The idiom 无病呻吟 (wúbìng shēnyín, 'moaning without illness') means to complain without good reason or to be needlessly sentimental.

Stroke Order

呻 shēn

吟 yín