Just a few of the many words for ‘pain’ in Chinese:<\/p>\n
\u75bc
\nT\u00e9ng
\npain, ache, or sore<\/p>\n
OR there is:<\/p>\n
\u75db
\nT\u00f2ng
\npain, ache, sorrow, sadness<\/p>\n
As well as,<\/p>\n
\u75e0
\nSu\u0101n
\nache in limbs, pain, pang<\/p>\n
I \u00a0was introduced to the word pain<\/strong>\u00a0here in China as a ‘warning’ word for my first foot massage. “If it hurts too much, just say ‘<\/strong>tong’.<\/strong><\/em>“, a friend told me. Sounded easy enough to me. Finally, a word I could pronounce and one I just might remember. (Take that Chinese tones!) \u00a0So I set off in the direction of a recommended foot massage location, armed and ready with my one word should I need it. Turns out I didn’t need the word ‘<\/strong>tong’<\/strong><\/em>, or any of the words for pain at all. (Which is a good thing as the way I pronounced it varied in translation from ‘offensive’<\/strong>\u00a0to ‘soup’<\/strong>)\u00a0Like in so many situations I have found here in Shanghai the universal, ‘OK’, worked just fine as a question, as well as an answer.\u00a0OK?<\/p>\n
![\"OK?](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.elizabethbowie.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/lightbulb.jpeg\")
<\/a>(Words, characters and translations compliments of Google translate…I have found that this translation service, as well as others, might steer you in the right direction, sometimes. However, most likely in this particular situation, you’ll just get some offensive soup<\/strong><\/em>.)<\/p>\n