The novel coronavirus was first identified at the end of 2019.
Tips
memory
冠状 means 'crown-shaped'. The name comes from the spikes on the virus surface that look like a crown (corona) under an electron microscope — the same image English drew on for 'coronavirus'.
mistakes
Read 冠 as guān (1st tone) here, not guàn (4th tone). guàn means 'to cap / champion' (as in 冠军), but in 冠状 it's the noun 'crown'.
