九竅 简体 九窍

jiǔ qiào

Nine orifices · jiu qiao

Also rendered: nine orifices (The traditional rendering, and the one used throughout the literature) · nine openings (Plainer; loses the technical feel of 竅)

Reviewed · 2026-09

At a glance

Pinyin
jiǔ qiào
Simplified
九窍
Literal
九 is nine; 竅 is an opening — the graph has 穴, a cave or hole, over 敫, and it means a passage through something. The nine orifices are the seven in the head — two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth — plus the two below. Chapter 28 mentions them once, at the very end, and what it says is where they get sick: headache, ringing in the ears and the nine orifices failing to work freely are born of the stomach and intestines.
Shuowen
《說文解字》:九,陽之變也,象其屈曲究盡之形;竅,空也,从穴敫聲。九竅謂耳目口鼻七竅加前後二陰,《內經》數見。本篇之目:頭痛耳鳴,九竅不利,腸胃之所生也。

In brief

The body’s nine openings — the seven in the head and the two below. Chapter 28 brings them in only at the close, as the last of three things it traces back to a source: jaundice and mania come from counterflow that has lasted, the five depots out of balance come from the six palaces shut up, and headache, ringing in the ears and the nine orifices failing to work freely come from the stomach and intestines. The claim is anatomical as much as it is clinical: what is highest is fed by what is lowest.

Senses in the classical corpus

1
The nine openings 九竅
耳目口鼻七竅加前後二陰
九竅不利 — Suwen 28
2
Traced to the stomach and bowels 腸胃之所生也
清陽不升則九竅不利
頭痛耳鳴,九竅不利,腸胃之所生也 — Suwen 28
3
What failing to work freely means 不利
不通利,開合視聽皆失其常
九竅不利 — Suwen 28
4
Paired with headache and ringing ears 頭痛耳鳴
三者同屬清陽不升之證
頭痛耳鳴,九竅不利 — Suwen 28
5
The closing movement 之所生也
篇末三句皆以「…之所生也」推病本
五藏不平,六府閉塞之所生也 — Suwen 28
6
Why the bowels 腸胃
腸胃為水穀之海、氣血之源,病則清陽不升
頭痛耳鳴,九竅不利 — Suwen 28

Occurrences in the classics

Passages where the term does real work, with the original, pinyin and English on the same line.

Display
6 passages
素問·通評虚實論 Suwen 28 · 通評虚實論 Read in context →
頭痛耳鳴,九竅不利,腸胃之所生也。 头痛耳鸣,九窍不利,肠胃之所生也。
Tóu tòng ěr míng, jiǔ qiào bù lì, cháng wèi zhī suǒ shēng yě.
Headache, ringing in the ears and the nine orifices failing to work freely are born of the stomach and intestines.
篇末三句皆以「…之所生也」結,由久逆(氣)、而六府(府)、而腸胃(府),層層推其病本,是本篇之收束。「耳」讀 ěr;「九」讀 jiǔ;**「竅」讀 qiào,本篇惟此一見**;「利」讀 lì,通利也;「胃」讀 wèi。九竅(耳目口鼻及二陰)之不利,本篇斷為腸胃之病所生:腸胃為水穀之海、氣血之源,腸胃病則清陽不升、九竅不利,故頭痛耳鳴。此與《素問》他篇「頭痛耳鳴,九竅不利,腸胃之所生也」文同。
素問·鍼解 Suwen 54 · 鍼解 Read in context →
故一鍼皮,二鍼肉,三鍼脉,四鍼筋,五鍼骨,六鍼調陰陽,七鍼益精,八鍼除風,九鍼通九竅,除三百六十五節氣,此之謂各有所主也。 故一针皮,二针肉,三针脉,四针筋,五针骨,六针调阴阳,七针益精,八针除风,九针通九窍,除三百六十五节气,此之谓各有所主也。
Gù yī zhēn pí, èr zhēn ròu, sān zhēn mài, sì zhēn jīn, wǔ zhēn gǔ, liù zhēn tiáo yīn yáng, qī zhēn yì jīng, bā zhēn chú fēng, jiǔ zhēn tōng jiǔ qiào, chú sān bǎi liù shí wǔ jié qì, cǐ zhī wèi gè yǒu suǒ zhǔ yě.
Thus the first needles the skin, the second the flesh, the third the vessels, the fourth the sinews, the fifth the bone, the sixth regulates yin and yang, the seventh augments essence, the eighth dispels wind, the ninth opens the nine openings and clears the qi of the three hundred and sixty-five joints — this is what is meant by each having its own charge.
「九鍼通九「竅」讀 qiào,除三百六十五節氣」——**本篇「九竅」3見,讀 jiǔ qiào**;**本目為第二十八篇所立(九竅不利,腸胃之所生)**;**本篇三見**:**「人九竅三百六十五絡應野」——人身之九竅應於九野**;**「九鍼通九竅」——九鍼之用**;**「九竅三百六十五」——末段錯簡之文**;「通」讀 tōng、**本篇「通」1見,讀 tōng**
素問·調經論 Suwen 62 · 調經論 Read in context →
帝曰:人有精氣津液,四支、九竅,五藏十六部,三百六十五節,乃生百病,百病之生,皆有虚實。今夫子乃言有餘有五,不足亦有五,何以生之乎? 帝曰:人有精气津液,四支、九窍,五藏十六部,三百六十五节,乃生百病,百病之生,皆有虚实。今夫子乃言有余有五,不足亦有五,何以生之乎?
Dì yuē: rén yǒu jīng qì jīn yè, sì zhī, jiǔ qiào, wǔ zàng shí liù bù, sān bǎi liù shí wǔ jié, nǎi shēng bǎi bìng, bǎi bìng zhī shēng, jiē yǒu xū shí. Jīn fū zǐ nǎi yán yǒu yú yǒu wǔ, bù zú yì yǒu wǔ, hé yǐ shēng zhī hū?
The Emperor says: a man has essence, qi, fluid and humour; four limbs and nine orifices; five depots and sixteen parts; three hundred and sixty-five joints. From these the hundred diseases arise, and every one of them has its deficiency and its excess. Yet you, master, speak of five excesses and five insufficiencies – how do they come to be?
「人有精氣津液,四支、九竅,五藏十六部,三百六十五節,乃生百病」——**「九竅」本篇1見,在開篇黄帝之問中**:**四支、九竅、五藏十六部、三百六十五節並舉,皆人身之部而百病之所生**;**「九」讀 jiǔ、「竅」讀 qiào**
素問·生氣通天論 Suwen 3 · 生氣通天論 Read in context →
故聖人傳精神,服天氣,而通神明。失之則内閉九竅,外壅肌肉,衞氣散解,此謂自傷,氣之削也。 故圣人传精神,服天气,而通神明。失之则内闭九窍,外壅肌肉,卫气散解,此谓自伤,气之削也。
Gù shèng rén chuán jīng shén, fú tiān qì, ér tōng shén míng. shī zhī zé nèi bì jiǔ qiào, wài yōng jī ròu, wèi qì sàn jiě, cǐ wèi zì shāng, qì zhī xuē yě.
Therefore the sage gathers the jing and shen, takes in the qi of heaven, and so communicates with the spirit brightness. Let this go, and the nine orifices are shut within and the flesh is stopped up without; the defensive qi scatters and dissolves. This is called wounding oneself – it is the qi being pared away.
「失之則内閉九竅,外壅肌肉」——九竅為内之竅,肌肉為外之壅,下文「九竅不通」同此;**「九竅」本篇3見**
素問·陰陽應象大論 Suwen 5 · 陰陽應象大論 Read in context →
六經爲川,腸胃爲海,九竅爲水注之氣。以天地爲之陰陽,陽之汗,以天地之雨名之。陽之氣,以天地之疾風名之。暴氣象雷,逆氣象陽。故治不法天之紀,不用地之理,則災害至矣。 六经为川,肠胃为海,九窍为水注之气。以天地为之阴阳,阳之汗,以天地之雨名之。阳之气,以天地之疾风名之。暴气象雷,逆气象阳。故治不法天之纪,不用地之理,则灾害至矣。
liù jīng wéi chuān, cháng wèi wéi hǎi, jiǔ qiào wéi shuǐ zhù zhī qì. yǐ tiān dì wéi zhī yīn yáng, yáng zhī hàn, yǐ tiān dì zhī yǔ míng zhī. yáng zhī qì, yǐ tiān dì zhī jí fēng míng zhī. bào qì xiàng léi, nì qì xiàng yáng. gù zhì bù fǎ tiān zhī jì, bù yòng dì zhī lǐ, zé zāi hài zhì yǐ.
The six channels are the rivers, the stomach and intestines the sea, the nine orifices the vapour of pouring water. Taking heaven and earth as the yin and yang of it: the sweat of yang is named after the rain of heaven and earth; the qi of yang is named after the swift wind of heaven and earth. Fierce qi resembles thunder, rebellious qi resembles yang. Therefore if treatment does not model itself on the markers of heaven and does not employ the order of earth, calamity will arrive.
「九竅爲水注之氣」——六經為川、腸胃為海,九竅為水注之氣;**「九竅」本篇2見**
素問·玉機真藏論 Suwen 19 · 玉機真藏論 Read in context →
帝曰:夫子言脾爲孤藏,中央土以灌四傍,其太過與不及,其病皆何如?歧伯曰:太過則令人四支不舉,其不及則令人九竅不通,名曰重強。 帝曰:夫子言脾为孤藏,中央土以灌四傍,其太过与不及,其病皆何如?歧伯曰:太过则令人四支不举,其不及则令人九窍不通,名曰重强。
Dì yuē: fū zǐ yán pí wéi gū zàng, zhōng yāng tǔ yǐ guàn sì bàng, qí tài guò yǔ bù jí, qí bìng jiē hé rú? Qí bó yuē: tài guò zé lìng rén sì zhī bù jǔ, qí bù jí zé lìng rén jiǔ qiào bù tōng, míng yuē chóng qiáng.
Excess makes the four limbs unable to lift; deficiency makes the nine orifices fail to communicate. It is called doubled rigidity.
「九竅不通」,脾脉不及則令人九竅不通,名曰重強。九竅者上七下二,藏氣不通於外則竅閉。

Compounds built on this term

九竅
jiǔ qiào
the nine orifices
本篇惟此一見
七竅
qī qiào
the seven orifices
耳目口鼻之七孔,九竅之在上者
不利
bù lì
failing to work freely
「利」讀 lì,通利也
腸胃
cháng wèi
stomach and intestines
本篇以為九竅不利之所由生

How it has been translated

Every rendering below is a decision about which reader is being addressed. There is no neutral option.

Wiseman & Fengnine orificesThey keep the standard English term, which is what a student will meet in every discussion of the sense organs.
Unschuldthe nine openingsUnschuld uses the plain word and lists them, on the grounds that 'orifice' in English now sounds clinical in a way the Chinese does not.
This sitenine orificesWe keep orifices: chapter 28 is making a technical claim — that the openings of the head depend on the bowels — and the traditional term signals that this is anatomy, not description. We count them out once in the gloss so no reader has to guess.

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-09

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Reading path

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