病体 (bìng tī) — a sick body | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

a sick body

Measure word · 个

病体。
Tā de bìng tī zhōng yú màn màn huī fù le.
His sick body finally slowly recovered.
，病体。
Yī shēng jiàn yì tā duō xiū xi, ràng bìng tī jǐn kuài hǎo qǐ lái.
The doctor advised him to rest more so that his sick body could recover quickly.
病体。
Tā tuō zhe bìng tī jiān chí qù shàng bān.
He dragged his sick body and insisted on going to work.

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.

病 describes illness, and 体 names the body.

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.

疒丙病

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nèsickness

Sound part声符shēngfú

丙

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.

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 體; 体 is its simplified writing.

骨豊體

Meaning part形符xíngfú

骨骨gǔbone

Sound part声符shēngfú

豊

豊lǐ體tǐ

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 體 pairs 骨 (bone) with 豊 as a sound part; this note is about 體, not about the parts of 体.