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伤风 (shāng fēng) — to catch a cold (minor illness with runny nose, sneezing, sore throat)

Definition

A slightly old-fashioned word meaning 'to catch a cold.' Most learners will use 感冒 instead — 伤风 appears more in traditional medicine or written contexts.

to catch a cold (minor illness with runny nose, sneezing, sore throat)

Examples

  • 伤风，。
    Tā shāng fēng le, suǒ yǐ qǐng jià méi lái shàng bān.
    He caught a cold, so he took leave and didn't come to work.
  • ，伤风。
    Chūn tiān tiān qì biàn huà dà, róng yì shāng fēng.
    Weather changes a lot in spring, so it's easy to catch a cold.
  • ，伤风。
    Duō hē rè shuǐ, shāng fēng hǎo de kuài.
    Drink more hot water — you'll recover from a cold faster.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

伤shāngafflict
风fēngwind

“伤” (afflict) and “风” (wind) suggest being afflicted by wind, hence a cold.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 傷; 伤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥏻
𥏻𥏻傷shāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 傷 shows 人, a person, and uses 𥏻 to give the sound; the simplified 伤 is a later shorthand.

Open 伤 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →
Appears in
Illness & Symptoms

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