带病 (dài bìng) — to do something despite being ill; to carry on while sick

Definition

带病 (dài bìng) means 'despite being ill' — the subject is already sick and pushes on anyway (带 + 病). Pairs with verbs like 工作, 参加 to stress doing it while unwell.

verb
to do something despite being illto carry on while sick

Examples

  • 带病。
    Tā dài bìng gōng zuò le hǎo jǐ tiān.
    He worked for several days despite being ill.
  • 带病。
    Tā dài bìng cān jiā le bǐ sài.
    She took part in the competition while sick.
  • 。
    Tā dài zhe bìng hái shì lái kāi huì le.
    Despite being sick, he still came to the meeting.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

带dàicarry
病bìngillness

带 means carry and 病 means illness, so it pictures carrying illness while doing something.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 帶; 带 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 帶 was drawn as a woven belt; the simplified 带 is a later shorthand.

Open 带 →

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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