Meaning of 生病
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to fall ill
How to use 生病
生病 is a verb phrase meaning to get sick or to be sick, used in everyday speech about yourself or others. It is a verb plus object word, so you can put things in the middle, like 生了一场病 (shēng le yì chǎng bìng). Example: 我生病了，今天不去上班。(Wǒ shēngbìng le, jīntiān bú qù shàngbān.) I am sick, so I am not going to work today.
生 (shēng) means to give birth or produce, and 病 (bìng) means illness. Together 生病 is literally to produce an illness, so think of your body growing a sickness.
Common mistake: Learners often say 我很生病 to mean I am very sick, but 生病 is a verb, not an adjective. Say 我病得很厉害 (wǒ bìng de hěn lìhai) or 我生了重病 (wǒ shēng le zhòngbìng) instead.
生病 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
生 shēng · to grow · 5 strokes
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病 bìng · illness · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 生病.
| 先生 | xiānsheng | teacher; gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.) |
| 医生 | yīshēng | doctor; medical practitioner |
| 生气 | shēngqì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 学生 | xuéshēng | student; schoolchild |
| 生日 | shēngrì | birthday |
| 病人 | bìngrén | sick person; patient |
| 女生 | nǚshēng | schoolgirl; female student |
| 男生 | nánshēng | schoolboy; male student |
| 大学生 | dàxuéshēng | university student; college student |
| 看病 | kànbìng | to visit a doctor; to see a patient |
| 小学生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | primary school student; schoolchild |
| 中学生 | zhōngxuéshēng | middle-school student; high school student |
Questions about 生病
What does 生病 mean?
生病 (shēngbìng) means "to fall ill".
How do you write 生病?
生病 is made of 2 characters: 生 (5 strokes), 病 (10 strokes). That is 15 strokes in total.
Is 生病 an HSK word?
Yes. 生病 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 生病 and 病?
病 alone can be a noun meaning illness or a verb meaning to be ill, as in 他病了 (tā bìng le). 生病 focuses on the act of falling ill and is very common in speech. In many sentences, like 他生病了 and 他病了, both work.
How do I tell someone to get well soon in Chinese?
A common phrase is 早日康复 (zǎorì kāngfù), meaning recover soon. In casual speech you can also say 多休息 (duō xiūxi), get plenty of rest, or 好好照顾自己 (hǎohǎo zhàogù zìjǐ), take good care of yourself.