癎

In modern medical Chinese, 癎/癇 typically refers to epilepsy, while 痫 is used in simplified writing.

Phono-semantic compound:

疒 (병들 녁 / “sickness radical”) — semantic, indicates illness or disorder

閒 (사이 간, 한가할 한) — phonetic, provides the sound xian / gan

Thus the original meaning was “an illness (疒) of irregular intervals (閒) appearing periodically.”

This aligns perfectly with the episodic nature of epilepsy.

In Korean, 癎(간) is primarily a medical/literary term referring to epilepsy or convulsive disorders.

Medical usage:

癎病 (간병) — 간질 병; epileptic illness

癎疾 (간질) — epilepsy

癎癲 (간전) — 간질과 유사한 발작성 질환; seizure-like disorders

癎作 (간작) — 발작이 일어남; seizure episode

Modern Korean context:

Korean medical terminology typically uses the pure Korean term 뇌전증 (epilepsy), but 癎 is still found in:

- classical texts

- Chinese medical references

- older dictionaries

Semantic relationship with 閒:

閒 (“intervals”) as the phonetic is meaningful because:

- epilepsy occurs intermittently, at “intervals”

- classical physicians interpreted seizures as time-based periodic disorders

Thus the original graphic structure subtly reflects a medical observation.

Korean / Chinese / Japanese usage:

Korean: classical; replaced in medicine by 뇌전증

Chinese: 癫痫 is standard; 癎 is rare

Japanese: 癇 is common in non-medical psychological vocabulary

Medical tradition: both used historically to denote seizure disorders

Classical citations:

《太平聖惠方》 (Taiping Shenghui Fang — Song dynasty medical compendium)

「癇病作於風痰，發則仆地。」

“Epileptic illness arises from wind-phlegm; when it attacks, the patient collapses” — A classical medical description of epilepsy.

《外臺秘要》 (Waitaibiyao — Tang dynasty medical text)

「癇證，時發時止。」

“Epileptic symptoms come and go at intervals” — emphasizes the episodic, periodic nature (matching 閒).

《醫宗金鑑·雜病心法》 (Golden Mirror of Medicine — Qing)

「癇病多因驚恐所致。」

“Epilepsy often arises due to fright or emotional shock.”

Japanese Edo-period usage

《和漢三才圖會》 (Wakan Sansai Zue)

「癇、癎と同じ。発作ある病なり。」

“癇 is the same as 癎: a disease with sudden attacks.”

癇 — common traditional form in medical writing

痫 — modern simplified form in PRC medical texts

癎 — historically attested but less common today