How to Write 病 (bìng) — Meaning “illness”

Imagine the radical 疒 looks like a person lying in bed, and the right side 丙 looks like a thermometer showing a fever. This helps you remember that 病 means being sick and needing to rest.

Start with the radical on the left: dot, horizontal, left-falling stroke (keep it straight), then a dot inside, and finally a lifting stroke. For the right part 丙, write horizontal, left-falling, horizontal, vertical, and a dot in the center. A common mistake is making the left-falling stroke too curved or forgetting the dot inside 丙.

病 is a general word for illness or disease. 疙 (gē) refers to a small bump on the skin, like a pimple or lump. 疚 (jiù) means guilt or remorse, not a physical illness. They all share the same radical, but the right sides and meanings are completely different.

病 is very common in daily conversation, especially in phrases like 生病 (to get sick), 看病 (to see a doctor), and 病人 (a patient). In Chinese culture, it is polite to ask 你生病了吗? (Are you ill?) if someone looks unwell, showing care and concern.

Common words containing 病 include: 生病 (shēng bìng) — to get sick; 看病 (kàn bìng) — to see a doctor; to treat an illness; 病人 (bìng rén) — patient.