治病 (zhì bìng) — to treat/cure an illness | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A verb-object phrase meaning 'to treat/cure an illness' — 治 focuses on the act of medical treatment, while the object 病 names the disease being treated. Pairs with method words like 治好 (cure completely) and doctors like 中医.

verb

to treat/cure an illness

Examples

治病。
Tā shì yí wèi zhuān mén zhì bìng de yī shēng.
He is a doctor who specializes in treating illnesses.
。
Zhè ge lǎo zhōng yī zhì hǎo le hěn duō rén de bìng.
This old Chinese medicine doctor has cured many people's illnesses.
，。
Tā zhì le sān gè yuè de bìng, xiàn zài zhōng yú kāng fù le.
She treated her illness for three months and has finally recovered.

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

治 means to treat, 病 means illness; together they describe curing an illness.

Characters in this word

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

水水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

台

台tái治zhì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

治 has 水 (water) and 台; 台 gives the sound, and the character named a river.

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

Medicine & Treatment

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