(jí bìng) - disease, illness in Mandarin
jíbìngTraditional: 疾病
Translation
disease, illness
Word origin
疾 (jí, ailment, originally the sickness radical over an arrow, a wound) plus 病 (bìng, illness). The old distinction was that 疾 was the lighter complaint and 病 the grave one; joined, they cover the whole field.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 疾 (jí, ailment) + 病 (bìng, illness)
Stroke order
疾
病
Examples
。
This disease can be treated now.
。
Doctors are studying a new disease.
。
He left his job because of illness.
减。
Clean water can reduce disease.
。
Heart disease is common among older people.
疾病 (jí bìng) is disease as a category: the thing doctors study, health systems fight and statistics count. It is an abstract, countable-ish noun rather than a description of how you feel today.
The register is formal and largely written. It belongs to medical reports, public-health writing and news, and it compounds readily: 传染病 for infectious disease, 心脏疾病 for heart disease, 疾病预防 for disease prevention.
The trap is using it to say you are ill. 我有疾病 reads like a line from a medical form. To say you are unwell, use 我生病了 or the gentler 我不舒服, and save 疾病 for talking about diseases in the third person.
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疾病: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "疾病" (disease, illness): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 60.