癌症
áizhèng/ˀaɪ̯³⁵ ʈ͡ʂɤŋ⁵¹/
In Chinese, the English phrase cancer is translated as 癌症 (áizhèng).
癌症 is a noun used to describe the medical disease characterized by uncontrolled cellular proliferation. When you want to state that someone 'has cancer', it is common to use the verb 患 (huàn) or 得 (dé) before 癌症.
Meaning: disease of uncontrolled cellular proliferation (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word 癌症 is composed of 癌, meaning cancer or tumor and 症, meaning disease or symptom.
Which one should you use?
While 癌症 refers to the medical disease, the term 巨蟹座 is used to refer to the astrological sign or the constellation Cancer.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is áizhèng. The IPA is /ˀaɪ̯³⁵ ʈʂɤŋ⁵¹/.
Did you know?
- In many Chinese families, the word 癌症 is considered so taboo that people use euphemisms like 那個病 ('that disease') to avoid saying the word aloud.
- In Chinese, the word for cancer, 癌, is written with a radical on the left side that represents 'rock' or 'stone'.
- The word for the astrological sign 巨蟹座 literally means 'giant crab seat', whereas 癌症 has no linguistic connection to crabs in Chinese.
Examples in context
- 蕾拉之前在和癌症作鬪爭。Layla was battling cancer.This sentence is useful for describing a person battling the disease with 癌症.Tatoeba #7980279 by Leolaaziano, translation #6081291 by OsoHombre
- 有關癌症成因的研究耗費頗巨。Research on the causes of cancer is very expensive.This sentence is useful for discussing the costs of research regarding the causes of 癌症.Tatoeba #2511405 by tsayng, translation #681911 by Source_VOA
- 这五年痛苦的癌症治疗他终于坚持下来了。Throughout the five years of painful cancer treatments, he managed to keep a stiff upper lip.This sentence is useful for describing the experience of undergoing 癌症 treatments.Tatoeba #6330923 by yuiyu, translation #72492 by CK
- 你听说过癌症吗？Have you heard of cancer?
- 是的，癌症是一种常见但可怕的疾病。Yes, cancer is a common but dreadful disease.
- 23 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about a medical news report in a cafe.
- 俊杰 Junjie你看到关于癌症的新闻了吗？Nǐ kàndào guānyú áizhèng de xīnwén le ma?Did you see the news about cancer?
- 晓雯 Xiaowen还没，那是关于什么的？Hái méi, nà shì guānyú shénme de?Not yet, what is it about?
- 俊杰 Junjie说是有一种新的癌症治疗方法。Shuō shì yǒu yī zhǒng xīn de áizhèng zhìliáo fāngfǎ.It said there is a new way to treat cancer.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen那真是个好消息。Nà zhēn shì gè hǎo xiāoxi.That is truly good news.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cancer” translations and entries 癌症, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
