病 — how to write the kanji for “ill”
病 (“ill” and “sick”) is a JLPT N4 kanji taught in third grade in Japan. In newspapers it is the 384th most used kanji. KANJIDIC2 gives it 2 on readings and 3 kun readings, so the word decides how you say it. Its parts sit one inside another: 疒 (“sickness”, its radical), strokes 1–5; 丙 (“third class”), strokes 6–10, each finished before the next. On its own it is the word yamai, “illness; disease”. Its common words take the reading byou: 病院 (“hospital”), 病気 (“illness”), 水俣病 (“Minamata disease”) and 糖尿病 (“diabetes”). Chinese reads it bìng, “illness”, at HSK 1.
- Strokes
- 10
- JLPT
- N4
- Radical
- 疒 (“sickness”)
- On
- ビョウ, ヘイ
- Kun
- -や·み, や·む, やまい
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒top leftdownwards → down and left
- Dot ㇔top leftdown and right
- Rising stroke ㇀leftrightwards → up and right
- Horizontal ㇐centerrightwards
- Vertical ㇑centerdownwards
- Horizontal-turn-hook ㇆centerrightwards → downwards
- Left-falling stroke ㇒centerdownwards → down and left
- Dot ㇔centerdown and right
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (10 strokes in Japanese, 10 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Readings
- On (Chinese-derived)
- ビョウ byou, ヘイ hei
- Kun (native)
- -や·み -ya-mi, や·む ya-mu (rare), やまい yamai (rare)
- Meanings
- ill; sick
- Read byou
- 病院 病気 水俣病 糖尿病 白血病 病棟
- School year
- third grade
- Newspaper rank
- 384th of 2,500 (KANJIDIC2)
- Korean hanja
- 병 byeong
- Common words
- 38 in JMdict
Words with 病
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 病院 | びょういん byouin | hospital; clinic |
| 病気 | びょうき byouki | illness; disease |
| 水俣病 | みなまたびょう minamatabyou | Minamata disease |
| 糖尿病 | とうにょうびょう tounyoubyou | diabetes; diabetes mellitus |
| 白血病 | はっけつびょう hakketsubyou | leukemia; leukaemia |
| 病棟 | びょうとう byoutou | (hospital) ward |
| 病状 | びょうじょう byoujou | condition of a patient; state of a disease |
| 難病 | なんびょう nanbyou | serious disease; intractable disease |
| 心臓病 | しんぞうびょう shinzoubyou | heart disease; heart trouble |
| 成人病 | せいじんびょう seijinbyou | disease common in middle-aged and elderly people; lifestyle… |
Most common first (JMdict).
Practice sheet
Print at 100%. Several kanji: worksheet maker.
Keep going
JLPT N4, in list order: