Chinese symbol for “phlegm”
痰
tán
phlegm; spittle
The closest CC-CEDICT match for phlegm is 痰 (tán), defined as: phlegm; spittle.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Other Chinese words for “phlegm”
Related words
Other words that share a character with 痰.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 化痰 | huà tán | to transform phlegm (TCM) |
| 吐痰 | tǔ tán | to spit; to expectorate |
| 痰盂 | tán yú | spittoon |
| 祛痰 | qū tán | to dispel phlegm (TCM) |
| 咳痰 | ké tán | to cough up phlegm; to expectorate |
| 卡痰 | kǎ tán | to have phlegm stuck in one's throat |
See also: Japanese symbol for “phlegm”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.