病倒 (bìng dǎo) — to fall ill, to be struck down by illness

Definition

A separable verb (离合词) meaning 'to be struck down by illness' — split it for aspect/completion: 病倒了 ('has fallen ill') or 病倒下来. Conveys being suddenly or finally overwhelmed by sickness, stronger than just 生病.

verb
to fall illto be struck down by illness

Examples

  • 病倒
    Tā yīn wèi gōng zuò tài lèi, zhōng yú bìng dǎo le.
    He finally fell ill because of overwork.
  • 病倒
    Zhè cì liú gǎn hěn yán zhòng, hěn duō rén bìng dǎo le.
    This flu is very serious; many people have come down with it.
  • 病倒
    Tā zhào gù shēng bìng de mǔ qīn, zì jǐ yě chà diǎn bìng dǎo.
    She took care of her sick mother and nearly became ill herself.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

bìngbe ill

Be ill plus fall means to fall down with 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
sickness
Sound part声符shēngfú
bǐngbìng
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 →

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
Written in full asrén
Sound part声符shēngfú
dàodào
Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.

Open 倒 →

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