养病 (yǎng bìng) — to recuperate from an illness, to convalesce | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

养病 is a verb-object phrase meaning to rest and recover from an illness, usually at home. Often paired with 在家 or 在床上, and takes time-duration complements like 养了一个月.

verb

to recuperate from an illnessto convalesce

Examples

养病。
Tā shēng bìng hòu zài jiā lǐ yǎng bìng.
He recuperated at home after getting sick.
。
Tā yǎng le yí gè yuè de bìng cái huī fù.
He recuperated for a month before recovering.
养病。
Yī shēng jiàn yì tā duō xiū xi yǎng bìng.
The doctor advised her to rest more to recuperate.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

病bìngillness

养 means to tend or rest, and 病 is the illness being tended.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 養; 养 is its simplified writing.

羊羊yángsheep
食食shíto feed

The traditional form 養 uses 羊 as a sound part and 食 as a meaning part.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

疒丙病

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nèsickness

Sound part声符shēngfú

丙

丙bǐng病bìng

Same sound today

病 pairs 疒, a sickness mark, with 丙, which gives the sound; 丙 also means fire, giving a picture of lying feverishly in bed.

Appears in

Illness & Symptoms Medicine & Treatment

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