疾病 (jíbìng) — disease; illness

疾病 (jíbìng)

疾病 is the standard formal term for disease or illness, used in medical, public health, and academic contexts to refer to any disorder affecting the body or mind.

Meanings

1. [noun] disease; illness; sickness

Example Sentences

慢性疾病的预防比治疗更为重要。 Mànxìng jíbìng de yùfáng bǐ zhìliáo gèng wéi zhòngyào. Prevention of chronic diseases is more important than treatment.

传染性疾病可以通过多种途径在人群中传播。 Chuánrǎnxìng jíbìng kěyǐ tōngguò duō zhǒng tújìng zài rénqún zhōng chuánbō. Infectious diseases can spread through populations via multiple routes.

良好的生活习惯有助于降低患疾病的风险。 Liánghǎo de shēnghuó xíguàn yǒuzhù yú jiàngdī huàn jíbìng de fēngxiǎn. Good lifestyle habits help reduce the risk of contracting disease.

医学研究的进步使许多曾经无法治愈的疾病得到了控制。 Yīxué yánjiū de jìnbù shǐ xǔduō céngjīng wúfǎ zhìyù de jíbìng dédào le kòngzhì. Medical advances have brought under control many diseases that were once incurable.

心理疾病和身体疾病一样需要得到重视和治疗。 Xīnlǐ jíbìng hé shēntǐ jíbìng yīyàng xūyào dédào zhòngshì hé zhìliáo. Mental illness deserves the same attention and treatment as physical disease.

该地区缺乏医疗资源，导致许多疾病得不到及时救治。 Gāi dìqū quēfá yīliáo zīyuán, dǎozhì xǔduō jíbìng dé bu dào jíshí jiùzhì. The area lacks medical resources, causing many diseases to go without timely treatment.

Collocations

Usage Notes

疾病 is the formal and standard term for disease or illness in Chinese. In casual speech, people often use 病 (bìng) alone or 生病 (shēngbìng, to get sick). 疾病 is preferred in medical writing, policy documents, and news media.

The two characters are near-synonyms: 疾 originally meant a less serious or quickly-onset illness, while 病 meant a more severe or chronic condition. Combined, 疾病 covers the full range of diseases and illnesses. Compare with 症状 (zhèngzhuàng, symptoms), which refers to the observable signs of a disease.

Memory Hook

疾 (swift illness) + 病 (sickness) -- two words for being sick combined into one comprehensive term for disease.