关节炎
guānjiéyán
Arthritis is translated into Chinese as 关节炎 (guānjiéyán).
关节炎 is the term used to describe the inflammation of a joint. If you need to be more specific, you can use the term 风湿性关节炎 or the more precise medical term 类风湿性关节炎 for rheumatoid arthritis and 骨关节炎 for osteoarthritis.
Meaning: inflammation of a joint (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word is composed of 关节 (guānjié), meaning 'joint' and 炎 (yán), meaning 'inflammation'.
How do you pronounce it?
guānjiéyán
Did you know?
- While 关节炎 is the medical term, an elderly person might simply say their joints are 酸 (suān), which literally means 'sour'. In this context, it describes a specific type of aching or stiffness.
- People describing arthritis symptoms may use the word 僵 (jiāng), meaning 'stiff' or 'frozen'. This is the same root used in the word for 'zombie' (僵尸), which literally means 'stiff corpse'.
- The character 炎 (yán) in 关节炎 is composed of two 'fire' characters 火 (huǒ) stacked on top of each other, visually representing intense heat or inflammation.
Examples in context
- 我爷爷患有关节炎，所以他经常感到疼痛。My grandpa has arthritis, so he often feels pain.
- 他患有严重的关节炎。Tā huàn yǒu yánzhòng de guānjiéyán.He suffers from severe arthritis.
- 这种药可以缓解关节炎。Zhè zhǒng yào kěyǐ huǎnjiě guānjiéyán.This medicine can relieve arthritis.
- 天气冷的时候，她的关节炎会发作。Tiānqì lěng de shíhòu, tā de guānjiéyán huì fāzuò.When the weather is cold, her arthritis flares up.
Example conversation
A man is complaining about his knee pain to his friend.
- 雨婷 Yuting你的膝盖怎么了？Nǐ de xīgài zěnme le?What is wrong with your knee?
- 浩然 Haoran我最近关节炎又犯了。Wǒ zuìjìn guānjiéyán yòu fàn le.My arthritis has flared up again recently.
- 雨婷 Yuting那要不要去医院看看？Nà yào bù yào qù yīyuàn kàn kàn?Should you go to the hospital to get it checked?
- 浩然 Haoran我会去诊所找医生的。Wǒ huì qù zhěnsuǒ zhǎo yīshēng de.I will go to the clinic to see a doctor.
