染病 (rǎn bìng) — to catch a disease; to become infected

Definition

Literary/formal verb meaning 'to contract a disease' — emphasizes becoming infected. In everyday speech, use 生病 (shēngbìng) instead.

verb
to catch a diseaseto become infected

Examples

  • 染病。
    Tā yīn wèi bú zhù yì wèi shēng ér rǎn bìng le.
    He caught a disease because he didn't pay attention to hygiene.
  • ，。
    Zhè cì liú gǎn hěn yán zhòng, hěn duō rén rǎn le bìng.
    This flu is very severe; many people have caught it.
  • ，。
    Tā qù nián rǎn guò yí cì bìng, xiàn zài shēn tǐ hái méi wán quán huī fù.
    He caught a disease last year, and his body still hasn't fully recovered.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

染rǎninfect
病bìngillness

染 is to catch or infect, and 病 is the illness caught.

Characters in this word

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

染 combines 氵 (water), 九 (hook), and 木 (tree): something hung on a hook from a tree into water to dye it.

Open 染 →

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

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.

Open 病 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.