肺病 (fèi bìng) — lung disease; pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

肺病 (fèi bìng) is a general term for 'lung disease,' but in older Chinese usage it commonly referred specifically to tuberculosis (TB). Example 3 ('肺病在以前是不容易治好的病') shows this older TB-specific sense.

noun

lung diseasepulmonary tuberculosis (TB)

Examples

肺病。
Tā yé ye nián qīng de shí hou dé guò fèi bìng.
His grandfather had lung disease when he was young.
肺病。
Xī yān huì zēng jiā dé fèi bìng de fēng xiǎn.
Smoking increases the risk of lung disease.
肺病。
fèi bìng Zài yǐ qián shì bù róng yì zhì hǎo de bìng.
In the past, tuberculosis was not an easy disease to cure.

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.

病bìngdisease

肺 “lung” specifies 病 “disease,” giving lung disease or TB.

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.

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

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.