How to say "to defecate involuntarily" in Chinese. I guess it's 大便失禁。 But I need a more colloquial term. Thanks in advance.

I just asked a Chinese friend and she didn't know of any colloquial term for it. She just said the same thing you wrote.

失禁 sounds too much like a medical term. For 小便失禁, there are terms like 遗尿 and 尿床, which are more colloquial. So, I just think that there are similar terms for 大便失禁. Anyway, thank you very much.

What would a mother say when she found that her baby has shitted his pants again? I'd suppose that this is a situation that happens frequently, and I don't think that she'd use the term 大便失禁.

Upon reading your reply, I learned two new words (Thanks.), however she emphasized that 小便失禁 is different from 遗尿 and 尿床. The first one is for adults who wet themselves when they are asleep or unconscious. The second is for a child to wet the bed. 小便失禁 is a much more serious condition which could happen at any time. It could happen when you are eating lunch, walking down the road, etc.

Added: She also found 肛门失禁. This isn't colloquial, though. This is also a medical term.

The baidu on that word:http://baike.baidu.com/view/289203.htm

他拉屎了！ This isn't necessarily a form of illness, though. 有点不好听。 After talking about it for a while, as far as I can tell, the best translation for this one would be, "He shit his pants." You can use this one for adults or kids.

Added: 拉巴巴 is another way of saying it, but it is extremely colloquial and you can only say it towards little kids. You can't say that one to adults. A lot of regional dialects use this saying, and after checking it out it appears to be a part of generic 普通话 as well, now.

Then, to the worried parents of a child suffering from constipation, the sentence 他终于拉屎了 would make them very happy. But 他又拉屎了 would make a mother furious. It seems that putonghua is a really dull language. There's simply no differentiation between the two different (voluntarily and involuntarily) situations. Anyway, a hearty thank you.

Thank you, masters of erudition.

This is perhaps the best thread ever. Please update us if you find more ways to say you've pooped your pants.

@pts, I'm a bit confused as to why 他拉屎了 isn't a colloquial expression for a baby pooping in its pants involuntary? Even in English I would never say, "He pooped involuntarily again!"

If I went to a doctor I would never use the words "defecate involuntarily" either. While I understand the meaning, I just wouldn't say that. I would say "He pooped his pants and wasn't able to control it."

I think with this example it's already implied it's an involuntary action, unless the context implies otherwise. For example, "He pooped his pants" would almost unquestionably be involuntary, while "He pooped on a computer" would definitely be voluntary.

That being said, now I'll try to give you a Chinese answer, though I still think 他拉屎了 will suffice in most situations.

他拉裤子; this just specifies more that it was in his pants so it must have been involuntary

他拉下了; this might be the answer your looking for as it doesn't specify where, but it does sound a bit like it wasn't controllable

Maybe I am missing the point but wouldn't 大便在褲子上 be the most applicable?


On second thought, I often forget how much 中國普通話 and 台灣國語 differ sometimes. Perhaps that is rather vulgar on the mainland? I have heard kindergarten teachers use the exact phrase with children though(and vice versa).

@ pts - Always happy to help. I learned a few things along the way as well. How exactly did this question come up, though? I am curious if there is a good story behind it.

@josh 他拉屎了 is indeed a colloquial expression for a baby pooping in its pants involuntary . But 拉屎 is just too much overloaded. If that's the only verb available, then it means putonghua is lacking expressiveness. I just didn't believe that it's the only answer. So I insisted. Then, you provided the more specific and vivid verbs like 拉裤子 and 拉下了. Thank you very much. They answered my question. They prove that there are more suitable verbs available and my stubbornness is actually not unreasonable.

@dfoxworthy 拉裤子 is short for 大便拉在裤子里. When compared to 大便大在褲子上, 拉 is more colloquial than 大, and that's what I want. Also, the long form is too clumsy. I just want to learn every possible way to express the same thing, whether it's the polite form or the vulgar form. I'll need them someday.

@pts, glad it's what you were looking for. there is certainly nothing like a little language banter about pooping babies :P