瘟 wēn epidemic
epidemic; plague; pestilence
How to remember 瘟: 疒 illness + 昷 warm = epidemic. The illness spreads fast in the warm summer air, and each newspaper picks a scarier word than the last, epidemic.
Component breakdown
瘟 = 疒 illness + 昷 warm
- 疒 illness
- 昷 warm
The illness spreads fast in the warm summer air, and each newspaper picks a scarier word than the last, epidemic.
How it is used
- An epidemic/pestilence - 瘟疫 (wēnyì) a plague, 鸡瘟 (jīwēn) fowl plague.
- 瘟神 (wēnshén), the god of plague, is used to curse a jinx/troublemaker: 像躲瘟神一样 (like avoiding a plague god) means to shun someone. Colloquially 瘟 can mean listless/dull.