患病 (huàn bìng) — to fall ill, to contract a disease | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal/written verb for 'to fall ill' or 'contract a disease', more common in news and medical writing than in everyday speech.

verb

to fall illto contract a disease

Examples

患病。
Tā yóu yú cháng qī láo lèi ér tū rán huàn bìng le.
He suddenly fell ill due to long-term overwork.
，。
Qù nián tā huàn le yì chǎng zhòng bìng, xiū yǎng le bàn nián.
Last year she suffered a serious illness and recuperated for half a year.
患病。
huàn bìng De rén yīng gāi jí shí dào yī yuàn jiǎn chá.
People who fall ill should go to the hospital for a checkup in time.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

患huàncontract

病bìngillness

患 means to contract or suffer, and 病 means illness, so one falls ill.

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.

串心患

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

串

串chuàn患huàn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

患 is made from 心, a heart, plus 串, which gives the sound. Some old explanations also read the upper part as piercing through the heart.

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.