病恹恹 (bìng yān yān) — sickly, weak and listless

Definition

Reduplicated adjective (used as a predicate with 的 or as an adverb with 地) describing someone looking weak, listless, and drained from illness — more vivid and literary than simply saying 身体不好.

verb
sicklyweak and listless

Examples

  • 病恹恹，？
    Tā zuì jìn kàn qǐ lái bìng yān yān de, shì bu shì shēng bìng le?
    He's been looking sickly lately — is he ill?
  • ，病恹恹。
    Tā bìng le yì chǎng hòu, zhěng gè rén dōu bìng yān yān de.
    After being sick for a while, she became completely listless.
  • 病恹恹。
    Nà zhī xiǎo māo bìng yān yān dì pā zài jiǎo luò lǐ.
    That little kitten is lying weakly in the corner.

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
恹恹listless state
恹yānlistless恹yānlistless

病 means 'sick', and 恹恹 conveys a lingering weak state, giving a sense of sickly listlessness.

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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