病员 (bìng yuán) — patient (formal, especially in institutional or collective contexts)

Definition

A formal word for 'patient', used mainly in collective or institutional contexts (hospitals, military) rather than one-on-one medical care. Pairs with 病人, which is the everyday term.

noun
patient (formal, especially in institutional or collective contexts)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 病员，。
    Yī yuàn lǐ de bìng yuán hěn duō, yī shēng dōu hěn máng.
    There are many patients in the hospital, and the doctors are all very busy.
  • 病员。
    Zhè ge bù duì de bìng yuán dōu bèi sòng dào hòu fāng zhì liáo.
    All the patients from this unit were sent to the rear for treatment.
  • 病员。
    Shí táng wèi bìng yuán zhǔn bèi le tè bié de yíng yǎng cān.
    The cafeteria prepared special nutritious meals for the patients.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

病bìngsick
员yuánperson

病 means sick and 员 names a person, together referring to a sick person.

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
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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 員; 员 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鼎鼎dǐngding
Sound part声符shēngfú
〇
〇líng員yuán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 員, 〇 supplies the sound and 鼎 supplies the meaning; the simplified 员 is a shortened form.

Open 员 →

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