躺

tǎng
verb HSK 4 #1,295

Meanings

  1. 1 to lie down; to recline

Examples

HSK 2
Tā tǎng zài chuáng shang kàn shū.
He's lying on the bed reading.
HSK 3
Cǎodì shang tǎng zhe jǐ gè rén.
A few people are lying on the grass.
HSK 3
Tā lèi de yì tǎng dào shāfā shàng jiù shuìzháo le.
He was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as he lay on the sofa.

Tips

usage
Body-position verbs: 站 (stand), 坐 (sit), 躺 (lie down), 趴 (lie face down). 躺 specifically means lying on your back or side.
culture
躺平 ("lying flat") became a viral social-movement term around 2021 in China, describing young people opting out of the intense work culture and competitive rat race.

Components

radical
身 shēn
body
Body radical on the left - pictograph of a pregnant woman in profile, the swelling belly visible. The indexing radical anchors 躺 in the body-action family alongside 躲 dodge, 躯 torso, 射 shoot. To 躺 is to lay the whole body down, so the radical does the heavy work.
phonetic
尚 shàng
still; esteem (here phonetic)
Right side 尚 supplies the sound: shàng drifted to tǎng with regular sh/t alternation in older Chinese. Same phonetic family includes 倘 tǎng (if), 淌 tǎng (flow down), 趟 tàng (a trip) - all sharing the tǎng/tàng vowel. The shàng-tǎng pair illustrates classic Chinese onset substitution.

In Pop Culture

躺平 tǎngpíng
Lying flat
'lying flat' - rejecting overwork culture, embracing minimalism

Stroke Order

躺 tǎng