ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

illness; sick

bìng
10 strokes · 疒 (sickness radical: a person on a bed) + 丙 (third stem, sound bǐng) · HSK 2

Where 病 comes from

疒 is one of the script's darkest radicals: a person lying on a bed, drawn sideways. Everything under it ails. 丙 lends sound. 病 is the picture of being horizontal when you'd rather not be.

病 in Chinese culture

病从口入 'illness enters by the mouth' is grandmother epidemiology — wash hands, cook thoroughly, drink hot water. 看病 'see illness' means visiting the doctor; 毛病 'little ailment' extends to cars, phones, and personality quirks: 这人有毛病 — something's off with this guy.

Example

生病 shēngbìng — to fall ill

他生病了,今天不能来。
Tā shēngbìng le, jīntiān bù néng lái.
He's sick and can't come today.

How to remember it

A person on the sick-bed 疒 — ILL.

网瘾 internet addiction was officially classified as a 病 in China before most countries had the debate — the vocabulary moved faster than the science.

Same sound, different tones

1st bīng
ice
3rd bǐng
pancake
4th bìng
illness

Words unlocked by 病

生病 shēngbìng
to fall ill
看病 kànbìng
to see a doctor
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