病

bìng
noun HSK 1 #826

Measure Word

一场病 cháng

Meanings

  1. 1 illness; disease
  2. 2 to fall ill

Characters

疒 (illness radical) + 丙 phonetic.

Examples

HSK 1
Tā de bìng hǎo le.
He recovered from his illness.
HSK 1
Nǐ yǒu shénme bìng?
What illness do you have?
HSK 1
Tā shēngbìng le, jīntiān bùnéng lái.
He is sick and cannot come today.

Tips

memory
病 has the radical 疒 (sickness radical) on the outside, which looks like a person lying on a bed. Many illness-related characters use this radical: 痛 (pain), 疼 (ache), 症 (symptom).

Components

radical
疒 nè
sickness radical
Sickness radical: a person lying on a tilted sickbed - the long top stroke is the bed, the figure tucked underneath is the patient. Almost every Chinese word for illness, pain, or symptom is built on this radical: 痛, 疼, 症, 疫, 疯, 痊.
phonetic
丙 bǐng
third heavenly stem
Provides the sound (bǐng → bìng with tone shift). 丙 originally depicted a sacrificial stand and now serves mainly as the third heavenly stem in the traditional cycle. A faint heat resonance - fitting for fever - is sometimes read into it, but the role here is primarily phonetic.

Stroke Order

病 bìng