患 huàn — misfortune; suffer (from illness); trouble; danger; worry; to contract (a disease)
爷爷患了感冒，正在吃药。Yé ye huàn le gǎn mào, zhèng zài chī yào.Grandpa caught a cold and is taking medicine.
Common words: 患者 (huàn zhě)、隐患 (yǐn huàn)、患有 (huàn yǒu)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "to contract"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "to contract", including 患 (huàn), 缩 (suō). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "to contract" covers 2 different Chinese characters — 患 (huàn), 缩 (suō) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 2 characters do not share a sound — their readings span huàn, suō — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 患 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 患 huànmisfortune; suffer (from illness); trouble; danger; worry; to contract (a disease)Useful words: 患者, 隐患
- 缩 suōto withdraw; to pull back; to contract; to shrink; to reduceUseful words: 缩小, 缩短
Common words for these 2 "to contract" characters
Anchor each of these 2 characters in a word you can picture — start with 患 (huàn) — so "to contract" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
患者huàn zhěpatient; sufferer隐患yǐn huàna danger concealed within sth; hidden damage; misfortune not visible from the surface患有huàn yǒuto contract (an illness); to be afflicted with; to suffer from缩小suō xiǎoto reduce; to decrease; to shrink缩短suō duǎnto shorten; to reduce; to curtail收缩shōu suōto pull back; to shrink; to contract; (physiology) systole
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 2 ways to say "to contract".
缩 suō — to withdraw; to pull back; to contract; to shrink; to reduce
这件毛衣洗完以后缩水了。Zhè jiàn máo yī xǐ wán yǐ hòu suō shuǐ le.This sweater shrank after washing.
Common words: 缩小 (suō xiǎo)、缩短 (suō duǎn)、收缩 (shōu suō)
All 2 characters
Open 患、缩 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.