疾病 (jí bìng) — disease, illness | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/literary word for 'disease' (esp. serious, chronic, or in medical writing). 病 is the everyday spoken equivalent; use 疾病 when you want a more clinical tone.

noun

diseaseillness

Examples

疾病。
Zhè zhǒng jí bìng zài zǎo qī hěn róng yì zhì liáo.
This disease is easy to treat in its early stage.
，疾病。
Tā yīn wèi gōng zuò yā lì dà, dé le màn xìng jí bìng.
He developed a chronic illness due to high work pressure.
疾病。
Liáng hǎo de shēng huó xí guàn néng yǒu xiào yù fáng jí bìng.
Good living habits can effectively prevent disease.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

疾jíillness

病bìngillness

疾 and 病 both refer to illness, so together they name a disease or sickness.

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.

疒大疾

疒疒nèillness
大疾jífast

疾 combines 疒, showing illness, with a form showing an arrow flying toward a person, giving the sense of fast.

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

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