About
The character "喘", meaning to pant or breathe heavily, is structured as a phono-semantic compound with the mouth radical "口" on the left, indicating its association with breath or speech, and the component "耑" on the right, which primarily serves as a phonetic marker based on historical sound similarities. Etymologically, the selection of "耑" was driven by its auditory correspondence rather than semantic meaning, anchoring the character in the realm of respiratory sounds. Over time, the meaning of "喘" has consistently referred to labored breathing, while its application broadened through formations like "气喘" for asthma or "喘息" for pausing to catch one's breath, reflecting nuanced contexts without shifting its fundamental sense.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他跑得直喘气。
小狗热得直喘气。
他需要片刻喘息。
这里闷得喘不过气。
爬山让他气喘吁吁。
他累得几乎无法喘息。
她有气喘，不能剧烈运动。
尽管喘着粗气，他还是坚持跑完了全程。