疼 (téng) is a Chinese character meaning “to ache”. It is written from 疒 (sickness radical (a person lying on a bed)) and 冬 (winter), one enclosing the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to ache; to hurt”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
疒 + 冬
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-4 疒 / 5-9 冬）
Memory aid
Under the sickness frame 疒 sits winter 冬 — picture an old ache that flares up in the cold: téng, "it hurts".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 头疼tóu téngheadache; to have a headache; (fig.) troublesome疼 = téng
- 心疼xīn téngto love dearly; to feel sorry for; to hate to part with疼 = téng
Go deeper
All readings
to ache; to hurt
to ache; to be painful; to love dearly, to dote on
身体某处感到痛；也指非常喜爱、怜惜。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 头疼tóu téngheadache; to have a headache; (fig.) troublesome疼 = téng
- 心疼xīn téngto love dearly; to feel sorry for; to hate to part with疼 = téng
Sound component
冬 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 疼 mean?
疼 (téng) means to ache; to be painful; to love dearly, to dote on.
How do you pronounce 疼?
It is pronounced téng.
What parts is 疼 made of?
疒 (sickness radical (a person lying on a bed)) and 冬 (winter), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-4 疒 / 5-9 冬）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 疼 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 疼?
疒. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 疼?
Common ones are 头疼 and 心疼. The reading of 疼 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.