不治之症

bùzhìzhīzhèng

phrase #25,039

Meanings

1 incurable disease; terminal illness
2 (figurative) an irredeemable flaw or hopeless situation

Characters

to treat; to cure; to govern

possessive particle (of, connecting modifier to noun)

disease; illness; symptom

Examples

癌症在过去曾被认为是不治之症。

Áizhèng zài guòqù céng bèi rènwéi shì bùzhìzhīzhèng.

Cancer was once considered an incurable disease.

他的懒惰简直是不治之症。

Tā de lǎnduò jiǎnzhí shì bùzhìzhīzhèng.

His laziness is practically a hopeless case.

随着医学进步，许多曾经的不治之症已经可以治愈。

Suízhe yīxué jìnbù, xǔduō céngjīng de bùzhìzhīzhèng yǐjīng kěyǐ zhìyù.

With medical advances, many diseases that were once incurable can now be cured.

Tips

usage

不治之症 can be used literally (a medically incurable illness) or figuratively to describe a deeply entrenched bad habit or a problem that cannot be fixed.

Stroke Order

不 bù

治 zhì

之 zhī

症 zhèng