疼
to hurt; sore; painful
téng
What does 疼 mean?
疼 (téng) is an adjective/stative verb meaning 'to hurt' or 'be sore.' The body part is the subject: 我头疼 'my head hurts' (literally 'I, head, hurts'), 我牙疼 'I have a toothache.' Don't translate from English word order — never say 我有头疼; the natural pattern is body-part + 疼.
疼 also has a beautiful second meaning: 'to love dearly / dote on,' as in 妈妈很疼我 ('Mom dotes on me'). This sense captures the way affection for a child or grandchild feels almost like a tender ache. 疼 and 痛 (tòng) are synonyms for physical pain — 疼 is warmer and more spoken, 痛 is more formal and written, and you'll see them combined as 疼痛 (téngtòng, 'pain') in medical contexts.
Note: 疼 is the warm, colloquial choice in northern Mandarin. In writing and in southern speech, 痛 (tòng) is more common. Both mean 'hurt' and overlap fully.
Character breakdown
hurt; sore
Memory hook: The 疒 'sickness' radical wraps around 冬 'winter' — winter aches and stiffness give you 疼.
Example sentences
我头有点儿疼。
Wǒ tóu yǒudiǎnr téng.
My head hurts a bit.
spoken
你哪儿疼？
Nǐ nǎr téng?
Where does it hurt?
spoken
昨天我牙疼，没睡好。
Zuótiān wǒ yá téng, méi shuì hǎo.
My tooth hurt yesterday, so I didn't sleep well.
spoken
我肚子疼，想去医院。
Wǒ dùzi téng, xiǎng qù yīyuàn.
My stomach hurts — I want to go to the hospital.
spoken
奶奶很疼她的小孙子。
Nǎinai hěn téng tā de xiǎo sūnzi.
Grandma absolutely dotes on her little grandson.
neutral
Common phrases with 疼
Synonyms
痛 has the same meaning but is more formal and more common in writing and southern Mandarin. In Beijing speech you'll hear 疼; in news or medical writing you'll see 痛. Often interchangeable.
难受 means 'feel awful / uncomfortable,' covering nausea, sadness, malaise — broader than physical pain. 疼 is specifically 'hurts.'