犯病 (fàn bìng) — (of an illness or bad habit) to recur; to have… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An informal verb meaning an old illness or bad habit comes back or acts up again — emphasizes recurrence, not getting sick for the first time. Often used for chronic conditions (e.g. 高血压) and vices like smoking.

verb

(of an illness or bad habit) to recurto have a relapse

Examples

犯病。
Tā huàn le jì jié jiù róng yì fàn bìng.
He easily relapses when the seasons change.
。
Qù nián tā fàn le liǎng cì bìng.
Last year he had two relapses.
犯病。
Jiè yān yǐ hòu tā zài yě méi yǒu fàn bìng guò.
After quitting smoking, he never had a relapse again.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

犯fànincur/bring on

病bìngillness

The sense of bringing something on in 犯 joins with illness in 病 to describe an illness or bad habit recurring.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢎘

𢎘𢎘犯fàn

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

犯 combines 犬 and 𢎘: 犬 gives the meaning, and 𢎘 gives the sound.

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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