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肺炎 (fèi yán) — pneumonia

Definition

Literally 'lung inflammation' — a specific disease, not a general term. Compare with 炎症, which is the broader word for 'inflammation' anywhere in the body.

noun
pneumonia

Examples

  • 肺炎。
    Tā yīn wèi fèi yán zhù yuàn le.
    He was hospitalized because of pneumonia.
  • 肺炎。
    Lǎo nián rén de fèi yán bǐ jiào wēi xiǎn.
    Pneumonia is more dangerous for elderly people.
  • 肺炎。
    Dǎ yì miáo kě yǐ yǒu xiào yù fáng fèi yán.
    Getting vaccinated can effectively prevent pneumonia.

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.

肺fèilung
炎yáninflammation

肺 (lung) specifies the organ affected by 炎 (inflammation), giving pneumonia.

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat; flesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
巿
巿fú肺fèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

肺 combines ⺼, a form of 肉 meaning flesh, with 巿 for the sound.

Open 肺 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

炎 places two 火 (fire) shapes vertically, one above the other, to show fire doubled.

Open 炎 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Illness & Symptoms

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.