Abstract: “wuxing”, the traditional Chinese medicine concept, plays an important role in TCM theory and clinical trials. There have been many English versions but the translations are less than expressive. Based on detailed comparing different translations, exploring the deep meaning of the word, and discussing the integration of morpheme translation and transliteration, we put forward specific suggestions for improving the English translation of this concept.

Key words: the pentad of xing's, TCM term, translation