卧病 (wò bìng) — to be bedridden (due to illness)

Definition

卧病 (wò bìng) is a literary/written verb meaning 'to be bedridden from illness' — formal in tone, usually describing long or serious illness rather than brief sickness.

verb
to be bedridden (due to illness)

Examples

  • 卧病。
    Tā wò bìng zài chuáng yǐ jīng yí gè yuè le.
    He has been bedridden for a month.
  • 卧病，。
    Lǎo rén wò bìng bù qǐ, xū yào rén zhào gù.
    The elderly person is bedridden and needs care.
  • ，。
    Tā wò le sān tiān bìng, jīn tiān zhōng yú hǎo le.
    He was bedridden for three days and finally recovered today.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

卧wòlie
病bìngillness

卧 (lie) and 病 (illness) combine to mean lying down because of illness.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臥; 卧 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 臥 pairs 臣 (an eye pointing down) with 人 (a person).

Open 卧 →

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
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.

Open 病 →

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