Chinese word

感冒

Pronunciation

Pinyingǎn mào

Meaning

  • nouncold

Example

我得了感冒，今天不上班。wǒ dé le gǎn mào jīn tiān bú shàng bān

I have a cold, so I am not going to work today.

Illustration for 感冒 (cold)

More examples

他吃了维生素，想要预防感冒。tā chī le wéi shēng sù xiǎng yào yù fáng gǎn mào

He took vitamins and wanted to prevent a cold.

Core concept

A brief illness that affects the nose, throat, and nearby airways, often causing several ordinary respiratory symptoms.

Common phrases

  • 治好感冒zhì hǎo gǎn mào

    cure a cold

  • 预防感冒yù fáng gǎn mào

    prevent a cold

  • 轻感冒qīng gǎn mào

    mild cold

Similar words

伤风shāng fēng: A mild, common cold that mainly affects the nose or throat.
流感liú gǎn: An acute illness from influenza viruses that often causes high fever and deep fatigue.
发烧fā shāo: A higher-than-normal body temperature.
咳嗽ké sòu: A cough that occurs when the airways are irritated.

Definition in Chinese

感冒是一种短暂的上呼吸道疾病，通常由受凉或病毒引起，症状可有发热、头痛、咳嗽和流鼻涕等。gǎn mào shì yì zhǒng duǎn zàn de shàng hū xī dào jí bìng tōng cháng yóu shòu liáng huò bìng dú yín qǐ zhèng zhuàng kě yǒu fā rè tóu tòng ké sòu hé liú bí tì děng

Word origin

感冒 (gǎnmào, "cold") is a fixed medical compound inherited from traditional Chinese descriptions of illness caused by outside influences, with its older meaning narrowed to the modern common cold.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, the word can express illness status directly, so Chinese sentences about having a cold often do not need a separate verb meaning "catch".

Other meanings

  • catch a coldverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 感冒症状gǎn mào zhèng zhuàngcold symptomsnoun
  • 感冒患者gǎn mào huàn zhěpatient with a coldnoun

Word lists with this word