探病 (tàn bìng) — to visit a patient (especially in hospital) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A separable verb meaning 'to visit a sick person' (typically in hospital). Unlike 看望, which covers any kind of visit (guests, the elderly), 探病 is used only when the person being visited is ill.

verb

to visit a patient (especially in hospital)

Examples

探病。
Wǒ míng tiān qù yī yuàn tàn bìng.
I'm going to the hospital tomorrow to visit a patient.
。
Tā tàn le yí cì bìng jiù huí lái le.
He made one hospital visit and then came back.
，。
Zuó tiān wǒ tàn guò tā yí cì bìng, tā de qì sè hǎo duō le.
Yesterday I visited him in the hospital once; his complexion was much better.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

病bìngillness

探 means to visit and 病 means illness; visiting an illness means visiting a patient.

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

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

𥥍

𥥍𥥍探tàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 探, the 扌 part is a hand, and 𥥍 gives 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

Hospital & Clinic

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