Chinese word

流感

Pronunciation

Pinyinliú gǎn

Meaning

  • nounflu

Example

我得了流感，要休息几天。wǒ dé le liú gǎn yào xiū xī jǐ tiān

I have the flu, so I need to rest for a few days.

Illustration for 流感 (flu)

More examples

学校要求师生在流感季节接种疫苗。xué xiào yāo qiú shī shēng zài liú gǎn jì jié jiē zhòng yì miáo

The school requires teachers and students to get flu shots during flu season.

Core concept

A sudden respiratory illness that passes from person to person and affects many people during a seasonal outbreak.

Common phrases

  • 得了流感dé le liú gǎn

    have the flu

  • 患上流感huàn shàng liú gǎn

    catch the flu

  • 接种流感疫苗jiē zhòng liú gǎn yì miáo

    get a flu shot

  • 流感季节liú gǎn jì jié

    flu season

Similar words

感冒gǎn mào: A usually mild illness with symptoms such as coughing, a runny nose, and sneezing.
流行性感冒liú xíng xìng gǎn mào: The full formal name for the acute illness caused by influenza viruses.
传染病chuán rǎn bìng: Any illness caused by germs that can pass from one person to another.

Definition in Chinese

由流行病毒引起的急性呼吸道传染病，常在季节性流行期间出现，主要症状包括发热、咳嗽、乏力等。yóu liú xíng bìng dú yín qǐ de jí xìng hū xī dào chuán rǎn bìng cháng zài jì jié xìng liú xíng qī jiān chū xiàn zhǔ yào zhèng zhuàng bāo kuò fā rè ké sòu fá lì děng

Word origin

流感 (liúgǎn, "flu") condenses a longer name whose central idea is an illness spreading widely through a population.

Usage tips

  • English flu can appear in phrases such as stomach flu even though that illness is usually not influenza, so this Chinese word has a narrower everyday meaning.

Other meanings

  • epidemic flunoun
  • seasonal flunoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 流感疫苗liú gǎn yì miáoflu vaccinenoun
  • 流感病毒liú gǎn bìng dúflu virusnoun
  • 流感疫情liú gǎn yì qíngflu outbreaknoun

Word lists with this word