The Meaning of tanka [担架] In Japanese

担架
たんか
Romaji: tanka N5

What does 担架 mean?

Translation and Meaning

stretcher, litter

Definition

担架 means a portable frame or mat used to carry an injured or ill person. It is a medical transport device designed to support and immobilize the patient during movement, typically with a rigid or semi-rigid frame and straps for securement, handled by medical or rescue personnel.

Type

Noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • The term is primarily a professional transport device rather than a general piece of furniture.
  • Contexts span emergency medical services, hospitals, battlefield, and disaster-response settings.
  • Configurations vary from manual carriers to wheeled or hybrid units depending on the system.

Etymology

On’yomi: tan-ka; Mandarin: dān jià; borrowed through Sino-Japanese linguistic contact, leading to the common reading tan-ka in modern Japanese.

Composition

  • 担: carry, bear
  • 架: frame, rack
  • Together they denote a frame used to bear or carry a person, i.e., a device for transporting patients

Usage

Used in formal medical and emergency settings for patient transport, rescue operations, and hospital procedures. In casual speech the term is uncommon outside professional contexts; examples include 救急現場で担架を使って患者を搬送する and 病院の搬送手順書に担架の操作方法が記載されている.
💡 Tips
Mnemonic: imagine the word as a frame that bears a person; the reading tanka can be remembered by linking to bearing a load on a frame, which helps recall that 担架 is a transport device for patients.

Variations

  • Stretcher — romaji: tanka
  • Litter — romaji: tanka

Example Phrases

  • 病院の 廊下で、担架を 使って 患者を 運ぶ。
    Byōin no rōka de, tanka o tsukatte kanja o hakobu.
    In the hospital corridor, a patient is carried on a stretcher.
    Lista:
    • 病院の (byōin no) – hospital’s
    • 廊下で (rōka de) – in the hallway
    • 担架を (tanka o) – a stretcher
    • 使って (tsukatte) – using
    • 患者を (kanja o) – patient
    • 運ぶ (hakobu) – carry
    「担架」 is a tool noun; the sentence uses を使って to express ‘using a stretcher to move a patient’.
担架