得病 (dé bìng) — to fall ill, to become sick | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

得病 means 'to fall ill / become sick' — focuses on the moment one catches or comes down with an illness, often used in warnings or recounts of getting sick. Comma-off usage: 得了一场大病, 别得病.

verb

to fall illto become sick

Examples

得病。
Tā zuì jìn jīng cháng dé bìng.
He often falls ill recently.
。
Tā qù nián dé le yì chǎng dà bìng.
He had a serious illness last year.
，得病。
Tiān qì biàn lěng, xiǎo xīn bié dé bìng.
The weather is getting cold; be careful not to fall ill.

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

得 means get and 病 means illness, so together it describes getting sick.

Characters in this word

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

The old form 㝵 showed a hand picking up a cowry, meaning to obtain; later changes turned that picture into 得.

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

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