懊憹

ào náo

Vexed unrest · ao nao

Also rendered: Vexed unrest (Literal) · A stifled, nameless discomfort (Clinical)

Reviewed · 2026-10-31

At a glance

Pinyin: ào náo
Simplified: 懊憹
Literal: 懊 ào is regret, vexation; 憹 náo is disturbance of the heart. Together they name a state rather than a pain: a restless, stifled, indescribable discomfort in the chest — worse than fretfulness, less than pain, and notoriously hard for the patient to put into words. The chapter treats the word as a sign to be resolved by other signs, never by itself.
Shuowen: 懊，字書訓悔恨；憹，**《集韻》：「心亂也。」《類篇》：「懊憹，痛悔也。」****六至十篇經文共6見**（第八篇四見，第六篇、第七篇各一見）。**底本作「懊憹」**，與後世「懊惱」「懊𢙐」形異而義同，此依底本，不改字。**在陽明篇，懊憹三處皆與梔子豉湯相關**（543、556，及 500 之將發黄），一處（577）與燥屎並見而可攻——**同是懊憹，一吐一攻，判在燥屎之有無**。

In brief

A stifled, restless, nameless discomfort in the chest. In the yang brightness chapter it appears in two opposite situations: after a purge, when the empty stomach lets unruly qi stir the diaphragm, it calls for the gardenia and fermented soybean decoction, which clears and gently vomits; but where dry stool is present and the belly is full, the same feeling calls for a purge. The chapter uses the one word to teach that a feeling is not a prescription — the same complaint may be emptied upward or downward, and only the accompanying signs decide which.

Senses in the classical corpus

將發黄心中懊憹者，身必發黄

陽明無汗、小便不利，濕熱無出路，鬱於心中而懊憹，久則身必發黄

No sweat and scanty urine: damp heat has no way out, and frets in the chest. The chapter reads the unrest as the premonition of jaundice, not as a disease in itself.

陽明病，無汗，小便不利，心中懊憹者，身必發黄。 — 辨陽明病脉證并治第八

下後客氣動膈心中懊憹，舌上胎者，梔子豉湯主之

誤下之後胃中空虚，客氣動膈，心中懊憹而舌有胎，是無形之熱鬱於胸膈，故以梔子豉湯吐之

After a purge the stomach is empty and unruly qi stirs the diaphragm; with a coated tongue and this unrest, the heat is formless and lodged above, so the gardenia and fermented soybean decoction clears it upward.

若下之，則胃中空虚，客氣動隔，心中懊憹，舌上胎者，梔子豉湯主之。 — 辨陽明病脉證并治第八

外有熱而懊憹不結胸，心中懊憹，飢不能食

下後外有熱、手足温而不結胸，心中懊憹、飢不能食、但頭汗出，熱鬱上焦，仍主梔子豉湯

Heat outside, warm hands and feet, no knotted chest, hunger without the ability to eat, sweat on the head alone: heat is compressed in the upper burner, and the same decoction is given. The absence of a knot is what permits it.

陽明病，下之，其外有熱，手足温，不結胸，心中懊憹，飢不能食，但頭汗出者，梔子豉湯主之。 — 辨陽明病脉證并治第八

有燥屎可攻心中懊憹而煩，胃中有燥屎者，可攻

同一懊憹，若腹微滿、胃中有燥屎，則非吐劑所宜，當以大承氣攻下；有燥屎與無燥屎，判其上下

The same unrest, but with a full belly and dry stool in the stomach, is not to be treated by vomiting: the great qi-settling decoction attacks below. Whether dry stool is present decides the direction of treatment.

陽明病，下之，心中懊憹而煩，胃中有燥屎者，可攻。 — 辨陽明病脉證并治第八

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，無汗，小便不利，心中懊憹者，身必發黄。阳明病，无汗，小便不利，心中懊𢙐者，身必发黄。

yáng míng bìng wú hàn xiǎo biàn bù lì xīn zhōng ào náo zhě shēn bì fā huáng

In yangming disease with no sweat, difficult urine, and a troubled, burning heart, the body will surely turn yellow.

懊憹而無汗、小便不利，是濕熱鬱極，故曰「身必發黄」。

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，脉浮而緊，咽燥口苦，腹滿而喘，發熱汗出，不惡寒，反惡熱，身重。若發汗，則燥，心憒憒，反讝語，若加燒鍼，必怵惕煩燥不得眠。若下之，則胃中空虚，客氣動隔，心中懊憹，舌上胎者，梔子豉湯主之。阳明病，脉浮而紧，咽燥口苦，腹满而喘，发热汗出，不恶寒，反恶热，身重。若发汗，则燥，心愦愦，反讝语，若加烧针，必怵惕烦燥不得眠。若下之，则胃中空虚，客气动隔，心中懊𢙐，舌上胎者，栀子豉汤主之。

yáng míng bìng mài fú ér jǐn yàn zào kǒu kǔ fù mǎn ér chuǎn fā rè hàn chū bù wù hán fǎn wù rè shēn zhòng ruò fā hàn zé zào xīn kuì kuì fǎn zhān yǔ ruò jiā shāo zhēn bì chù tì fán zào bù dé mián ruò xià zhī zé wèi zhōng kōng xū kè qì dòng gé xīn zhōng ào náo shé shàng tāi zhě zhī zǐ shì tāng zhǔ zhī

In yangming disease with a floating, tense pulse, dry throat, bitter mouth, full abdomen, panting, fever, sweat, no aversion to cold but aversion to heat, and a heavy body: sweating brings dryness and a confused heart with delirium; adding burning needles brings fearful restlessness, irritation, and sleeplessness. Purging empties the stomach, and guest qi stirs the diaphragm, with a troubled heart; if the tongue has a coating, Gardenia and Fermented Soy Decoction governs it.

下後客氣動膈，舌上胎，梔子豉湯——懊憹之從上解者。

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，下之，其外有熱，手足温，不結胸，心中懊憹，飢不能食，但頭汗出者，梔子豉湯主之。阳明病，下之，其外有热，手足温，不结胸，心中懊𢙐，饥不能食，但头汗出者，栀子豉汤主之。

yáng míng bìng xià zhī qí wài yǒu rè shǒu zú wēn bù jié xiōng xīn zhōng ào náo jī bù néng shí dàn tóu hàn chū zhě zhī zǐ shì tāng zhǔ zhī

In yangming disease after purging, with heat outside, warm hands and feet, no chest binding, a troubled heart, hunger yet inability to eat, and sweat on the head alone, Gardenia and Fermented Soy Decoction governs it.

不結胸而懊憹，熱在上焦；飢不能食、但頭汗出，皆鬱熱之徵。

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，下之，心中懊憹而煩，胃中有燥屎者，可攻。腹微滿，初頭鞕，後必溏，不可攻之。若有燥屎者，宜大承氣湯。阳明病，下之，心中懊𢙐而烦，胃中有燥屎者，可攻。腹微满，初头硬，后必溏，不可攻之。若有燥屎者，宜大承气汤。

yáng míng bìng xià zhī xīn zhōng ào náo ér fán wèi zhōng yǒu zào shǐ zhě kě gōng fù wēi mǎn chū tóu yìng hòu bì táng bù kě gōng zhī ruò yǒu zào shǐ zhě yí dà chéng qì tāng

In yangming disease after purging, with a troubled, irritated heart and dry dung in the stomach, it may be attacked. If the abdomen is slightly full, hard at first and surely loose afterwards, it must not be attacked. If there is dry dung, Major Qi-Ordering Decoction is suitable.

同一懊憹，有燥屎則攻，無燥屎則吐；此條最見辨證之權。

Compounds built on this term

心中懊憹

xīn zhōng ào náo

unrest in the chest

辨陽明病脉證并治第八

懊憹而煩

ào náo ér fán

unrest with restlessness

辨陽明病脉證并治第八

客氣動膈

kè qì dòng gé

unruly qi stirs the diaphragm

辨陽明病脉證并治第八

梔子豉湯

zhī zǐ chǐ tāng

gardenia and fermented soybean decoction

辨陽明病脉證并治第八

How it has been translated

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

This site	vexed unrest	keeps the feeling, not the diagnosis
Literal	regret and heart-disturbance	exact, and psychological in English
Clinical	anxious epigastric distress	clear, but wider than the Chinese

Entry status

Review pending — who reviews this?

2026-10-31

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