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热病 (rè bìng) — (in traditional Chinese medicine) febrile disease; fever caused by external pathogens

Definition

A TCM term for an illness marked by fever, traditionally attributed to external 'heat' pathogens. It covers a category of febrile disorders, not a single Western diagnosis.

noun
(in traditional Chinese medicine) febrile diseasefever caused by external pathogens

Examples

  • 热病。
    Zhōng yī rèn wéi rè bìng duō yóu wài gǎn fēng rè yǐn qǐ.
    Chinese medicine believes that febrile diseases are mostly caused by external wind-heat.
  • 热病，。
    Tā dé le rè bìng, xū yào chī qīng rè de zhōng yào.
    He contracted a febrile disease and needs to take heat-clearing Chinese herbal medicine.
  • 热病、。
    rè bìng De zhèng zhuàng bāo kuò gāo shāo, kǒu kě hé tóu tòng.
    The symptoms of febrile disease include high fever, thirst, and headache.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

热rèfever
病bìngillness

热 is heat or fever, and 病 is illness; together they mean a feverish 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 熱; 热 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
灬Written in full as火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì熱rè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 熱 pairs 埶 with 火 (written as 灬) to show heat, while 埶 gives a sound.

Open 热 →

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 →
Appears in
Illness & SymptomsTraditional Medicine & Philosophy

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