病気

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. 病気で会社を休みました。▶ —
   I took a day off from work due to illness.
2. 彼は重い病気にかかっている。▶ —
   He has come down with a serious illness.

Collocations

Mnemonic

Byouki (病気) is the Sino-Japanese word "illness," composed of 病 (sickness) + 気 (energy / state) = "a state where the energy of sickness is present." Japanese -ki vocabulary clusters around mind-body state: genki (well), kibun (mood), yuuki (courage), ninki (popularity). The default collocation byouki ni kakaru (catch illness, with kakaru = "to hang on") mirrors Korean byeong-e geol-li-da and Chinese 得病 / 患病, sharing the metaphor of sickness clinging to a person. Metaphor extension ~byou (~-illness = addiction): kaimono-byou (shopping addiction), geemu-byou (game addiction). Watch out: byouki (illness) and byouin (hospital) share the 病 root but differ in meaning.

Quick check

1. Natural phrase for "to fall ill"?

   • Byouki ni kakaru — illness clings to one (idiomatic)
   • Byouki o suru — awkward
   • Byouki o tsukuru — awkward
   • Byouki o hajimeru — awkward