疫

yì

殳 + 疒

Definitions

yì (noun) epidemic; plague

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 疒 represents the meaning and 役 represents the sound.

Semantic: 疒

About

The character 疫 is a phono-semantic compound using the sickness radical 疒 as its semantic frame, indicating illness, with 殳 (shū) providing the phonetic element. This structure conveys the idea of a disease that attacks a population like a strike. The core meaning refers to a plague, epidemic, or pestilence, contagious illnesses that spread rapidly and affect many people at once. This character is fundamental to terminology concerning widespread infectious diseases, quarantine, and public health crises.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

疫情正在好转。

Yìqíng zhèngzài hǎozhuǎn.

The epidemic situation is improving.

我们都要接种疫苗。

Wǒmen dōu yào jiēzhòng yìmiáo.

We all need to get vaccinated.

防疫措施很重要。

Fángyì cuòshī hěn zhòngyào.

Epidemic prevention measures are very important.

这场瘟疫影响了很多国家。

Zhè chǎng wēnyì yǐngxiǎngle hěnduō guójiā.

This plague has affected many countries.

政府发布了新的抗疫指南。

Zhèngfǔ fābùle xīn de kàngyì zhǐnán.

The government issued new guidelines for combating the epidemic.

流行病学家正在研究疫苗的有效性。

Liúxíngbìng xuéjiā zhèngzài yánjiū yìmiáo de yǒuxiàoxìng.

Epidemiologists are studying the effectiveness of vaccines.

由于疫情，许多国际会议被推迟了。

Yóuyú yìqíng, xǔduō guójì huìyì bèi tuīchí le.

Due to the epidemic, many international conferences have been postponed.

在疫情期间，保持社交距离是必要的。

Zài yìqíng qījiān, bǎochí shèjiāo jùlí shì bìyào de.

During the epidemic period, maintaining social distance is necessary.

Related Characters

Component: 殳

Component: 疒

疫