病友 (bìng yǒu) — fellow patient (someone sharing a hospital ward…

Definition

noun

fellow patient (someone sharing a hospital ward or treatment experience)

Measure word · 个

病友，。
Wǒ de bìng yǒu zuó tiān chū yuàn le, wǒ hěn shě bu de tā.
My fellow patient was discharged yesterday; I really miss him.
，病友。
Zài bìng fáng lǐ, bìng yǒu men jīng cháng yì qǐ liáo tiān dǎ fā shí jiān.
In the ward, fellow patients often chat together to pass the time.
病友。
Zhè wèi lǎo bìng yǒu jiào le wǒ hěn duō kāng fù jīng yàn.
This experienced fellow patient taught me a lot about recovery.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

病 and 友 combine to name a friend or companion through illness.

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.

疒丙病

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nèsickness

Sound part声符shēngfú

丙

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

又又友

友 is drawn as two 又, the hand form, side by side. The old explanation says two hands together mean friendship.