咽痛

yān tòng

Sore throat · yan tong

Also rendered: Sore throat (This site) · Throat pain (Literal) · Pharyngitis (Modern, too narrow)

Reviewed · 2026-10-31

At a glance

Pinyin: yān tòng
Simplified: 咽痛
Literal: 咽 yān is the throat, the passage that carries food down and air up; 痛 tòng is pain, a hurting that sits in one place. Together they name a pain localised in the throat rather than a general ache of the body. The chapter treats it as a signal: it may be heat, it may be cold, it may be the last flicker of yang rising before it goes out, and the same word covers all three.
Shuowen: **《說文》：「咽，嗌也。」「痛，病也。」** 咽為水穀與氣息共由之路，痛則或紅或腫、或乾或閉。**凡六見**：第七篇一（脉緊必咽痛）、第八篇一（能食而欬必咽痛）、第十一篇四（法當咽痛、猪膚湯證、甘草湯證、通脉四逆或見）。**與「咽中痛」之别**：咽痛泛指喉中痛，咽中痛則指痛在咽之中段，本篇半夏散及湯證用之；詞目取通行之「咽痛」，引文存底本字面。

In brief

Pain in the throat, read in this chapter as a diagnostic fork rather than a disease of its own. Where it follows several days of lesser yin disease and the throat is merely raw, the heat is shallow and liquorice root decoction is tried first; if that fails, platycodon is added to lift and open. Where it comes with diarrhoea, fullness of the chest and vexation, fluids have been spent and a dry fire rises, so pork-skin decoction moistens. Where it comes with a tight pulse and spontaneous sweat, yang is already leaking away and the sore throat is its last flare. Where the pain is fixed in the middle of the throat without redness, cold has lodged in the channel and the powder of pinellia and cinnamon twig scatters it.

Senses in the classical corpus

少陰客熱咽痛少陰病，二三日，咽痛者

少陰受邪二三日，客熱上攻咽喉，痛而未成瘡，先與甘草湯清之；不差，乃與桔梗湯開提肺氣

Two or three days into lesser yin disease, a guest heat rises to the throat and pain appears without ulceration. Liquorice root decoction clears it first; if it does not settle, platycodon is added to lift and open the lung qi.

少陰病，二三日，咽痛者，可與甘草湯；不差者，與桔梗湯。 — 辨少陰病脉證并治第十一

少陰陰虚咽痛下痢咽痛

下利傷陰，虚火上炎，故咽痛而胸滿心煩；猪膚湯潤燥滋陰，與甘桔之清熱不同

Diarrhoea has drained the yin and a deficient fire rises: sore throat with fullness of the chest and vexation. Pork-skin decoction moistens the dryness and restores the yin, which is not the same as clearing heat with liquorice and platycodon.

少陰病，下痢咽痛，胸滿心煩者，猪膚湯主之。 — 辨少陰病脉證并治第十一

少陰亡陽咽痛法當咽痛

脉陰陽俱緊而反汗出，陽氣外泄，故曰亡陽；虚陽上浮，法當咽痛而復吐利

The pulse is tight in both yin and yang yet sweat comes of itself: yang is escaping. The floating remnant rises, so a sore throat is expected, followed by vomiting and diarrhoea. This is not heat but the last light of a failing yang.

病人脉陰陽俱緊，反汗出者，亡陽也，此屬少陰，法當咽痛，而復吐利。 — 辨少陰病脉證并治第十一

少陰客寒咽痛咽中痛

寒客少陰之經，咽中痛而不紅不腫，半夏散及湯散寒開結，不可作熱治

Cold lodged in the lesser yin channel gives pain fixed in the middle of the throat, without redness or swelling. The powder and decoction of pinellia and cinnamon twig scatter the cold and open the knot; it must not be treated as heat.

少陰病，咽中痛，半夏散及湯主之。 — 辨少陰病脉證并治第十一

Occurrences in the classics

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

Display

4 passages

辨太陽病脉證并治下第七·辨太陽病脉證并治下第七 Read in context →

太陽病，下之，其脉促，不結胸者，此爲欲解也。脉浮者，必結胸也；脉緊者，必咽痛；脉弦者，必兩脅拘急；脉細數者，頭痛未止；脉沉緊者，必欲嘔；脉沉滑者，恊熱利；脉浮滑者，必下血。太阳病，下之，其脉促，不结胸者，此为欲解也。脉浮者，必结胸也；脉紧者，必咽痛；脉弦者，必两胁拘急；脉细数者，头痛未止；脉沉紧者，必欲呕；脉沉滑者，协热利；脉浮滑者，必下血。

tài yáng bìng xià zhī qí mài cù bù jié xiōng zhě cǐ wéi yù jiě yě mài fú zhě bì jié xiōng yě mài jǐn zhě bì yàn tòng mài xián zhě bì liǎng xié jū jí mài xì shuò zhě tóu tòng wèi zhǐ mài chén jǐn zhě bì yù ǒu mài chén huá zhě xié rè lì mài fú huá zhě bì xià xuè

In taiyang disease after purgation, a hurried pulse without chest binding means the disease is about to resolve. A floating pulse means chest binding; a tense pulse, sore throat; a string-like pulse, cramping of both flanks; a fine, rapid pulse, headache that does not stop; a deep, tense pulse, a wish to vomit; a deep, slippery pulse, heat-assisted diarrhoea; a floating, slippery pulse, bleeding.

脉緊者必咽痛，是寒邪上束，與少陰客寒同一機；脉證相應，故可預言。

辨陽明病脉證并治第八·辨陽明病脉證并治第八 Read in context →

陽明病，但頭眩，不惡寒，故能食而欬，其人必咽痛；若不欬者，咽不痛。阳明病，但头眩，不恶寒，故能食而咳，其人必咽痛；若不咳者，咽不痛。

yáng míng bìng dàn tóu xuàn bù wù hán gù néng shí ér kài qí rén bì yān tòng ruò bù kài zhě yàn bù tòng

In yangming disease with dizziness of the head alone, no aversion to cold, and therefore ability to eat, if there is cough, the person will surely have a sore throat; if there is no cough, the throat does not hurt.

陽明能食而欬，熱氣上衝，故必咽痛；不欬則熱不上行，咽亦不痛。

辨少陰病脉證并治第十一·辨少陰病脉證并治第十一 Read in context →

少陰病，下利清榖，裏寒外熱，手足厥逆，脉微欲絶，身反不惡寒，其人面赤色，或腹痛，或乾嘔，或咽痛，或利止脉不出者，通脉四逆湯主之。少阴病，下利清谷，里寒外热，手足厥逆，脉微欲绝，身反不恶寒，其人面赤色，或腹痛，或干呕，或咽痛，或利止脉不出者，通脉四逆汤主之。

shào yīn bìng xià lì qīng gǔ lǐ hán wài rè shǒu zú jué nì mài wēi yù jué shēn fǎn bù wù hán qí rén miàn chì sè huò fù tòng huò gān ǒu huò yān tòng huò lì zhǐ mài bù chū zhě tōng mài sì nì tāng zhǔ zhī

In shaoyin disease with diarrhoea of undigested grain, cold within and heat without, reversal of the hands and feet, a faint pulse on the verge of ceasing, yet the body not averse to cold, the face red, and perhaps abdominal pain, dry vomiting, sore throat, or diarrhoea stopping while the pulse does not come out, Pulse-Penetrating Four-Rebellion Decoction governs.

通脉四逆證或見咽痛，是裏寒外熱、虚陽上浮，與甘草湯證寒熱天淵。

辨少陰病脉證并治第十一·辨少陰病脉證并治第十一 Read in context →

少陰病，二三日，咽痛者，可與甘草湯；不差者，與桔梗湯。少阴病，二三日，咽痛者，可与甘草汤；不差者，与桔梗汤。

shào yīn bìng èr sān rì yān tòng zhě kě yǔ gān cǎo tāng bù chài zhě yǔ jié gěng tāng

In shaoyin disease of two or three days with sore throat, Licorice Decoction may be given; if it does not improve, Platycodon Decoction is given.

二三日咽痛無他證，熱尚淺，故先甘草後桔梗，次序不可亂。

Compounds built on this term

咽中痛

yān zhōng tòng

pain in the middle of the throat

辨少陰病脉證并治第十一

咽中傷

yān zhōng shāng

the throat injured within

辨少陰病脉證并治第十一

甘草湯

gān cǎo tāng

liquorice root decoction

辨少陰病脉證并治第十一

桔梗湯

jié gěng tāng

platycodon decoction

辨少陰病脉證并治第十一

How it has been translated

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

This site	sore throat	plain and clinical
Literal	pain of the throat	exact, a little flat
Clinical	throat pain of lesser yin	names the chapter, not the symptom

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2026-10-31

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