痲

Derived and modified from 麻 (삼 마, “hemp”).

麻 (hemp, flax) — original form, meaning both the plant and the numbing feeling produced by it (e.g., 麻木 “to feel numb”).

疒 (병들어 기댈 녁) — semantic radical added to indicate disease or pathological numbness.

Thus, 痲 represents the medicalized form of 麻:

“A sickness that makes one feel numb, like the touch of hemp.”

This substitution of 广 (from 麻) with 疒 (illness radical) follows a common ancient convention for differentiating bodily sensations or disorders from their natural or material origins.

In seal script, 痲 visually mirrors 麻 but with the left radical replaced — a clear indication that it was born from 麻 but repurposed for medical and physiological meaning.

Originally referring to the tingling or dull sensation one feels after contact with hemp fibers (麻), the character came to signify loss of sensitivity, whether caused by disease, cold, or emotional dullness.

마비 (痲痺) — paralysis, numbness, loss of function.

마진 (痲疹) — measles (lit. “numb rash”).

풍마 (風痲) — numbness or paralysis caused by wind (in traditional medicine).

In modern Korean, 痲 persists mainly in compound forms such as 마비 and 마진, while Chinese and Japanese usage have reverted to the base form 麻.

Therefore, Korea is the only major East Asian language where 痲 remains an active, distinct character.

In ancient Chinese medicine, 痲 described the numb, tingling, or paralyzed state of the body, especially when caused by cold, dampness, or blocked meridians (經絡).

Over time, it merged conceptually with 痹 (obstruction) and 痺 (numbness) to describe various paralysis-related conditions.

The classical expression 麻痺 (mábì / 마비) — “to be numb and paralyzed” — combines the tactile numbness of 痲 with the stagnation of 痺, forming one of the most enduring medical terms across East Asia.

In the Huangdi Neijing (黃帝內經), similar conditions are grouped under “風寒濕三氣雜至，合而為痹” — when wind, cold, and dampness conjoin, paralytic disorders arise. 痲 thus represents a sensory counterpart to 痹, focusing on perception rather than movement.

Cultural & semantic notes:

The semantic root of 痲 in 麻 (hemp) reveals the deep association between nature and sensation in early Chinese thought:

the numbing property of hemp’s fibers or medicinal extracts was extended metaphorically to emotional insensitivity or spiritual dullness.

In literature, phrases like 心痲 (심마) — “numb heart” — describe one who has become emotionally unfeeling, echoing both bodily paralysis and psychological detachment.

In Buddhist and Confucian writings, such numbness symbolizes a moral warning to lose sensitivity — whether to pain or to virtue — is to become spiritually ill.