What does “出汗 (chū hàn)” mean in Chinese?

出汗 (chū hàn) means “to sweat.” It is built from 出 (chū), “to come out / emit,” plus 汗 (hàn), “sweat.” The result — sweat appearing — is fused directly onto the action verb, making the compound self-explanatory. This verb-result fusion pattern is everywhere in Chinese: you do not just “cut” a chilli, you 切 (qiē) it into 两段 (liǎng duàn), two pieces. Chinese often encodes result directly in verb compounds.

The clip shows a man eating a red chilli pepper and breaking into a sweat, demonstrating the cause: 辣椒 (làjiāo) 很辣 (hěn là), “the chilli is very spicy.” Then the result: 脸上出汗 (liǎn shàng chū hàn), “sweat on his face.” The same pattern powers verbs like 睡着 (shuì zháo, “fall asleep”), 吃饱 (chī bǎo, “eat one’s fill”), and 看懂 (kàn dǒng, “read and understand”).