lâm bịnh
Definition
- Verb (Intransitive):
- To fall ill / to become sick: This is the primary and most common meaning. It describes the onset or beginning of an illness or disease. It is a formal or literary term, more commonly used in Southern Vietnamese dialects. The standard modern equivalent is "lâm bệnh."
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Ông cụ đột nhiên lâm bịnh nặng. (The old man suddenly fell seriously ill.)
- Sau chuyến đi, cô ấy lâm bịnh. (After the trip, she became sick.)
Advanced Usage
- The term "lâm bịnh" is considered somewhat archaic or regional in contemporary usage. In most formal writing and Northern Vietnamese speech, "lâm bệnh" or "phát bệnh" (to develop a sickness) is preferred.
- Nhà văn lâm bịnh trong lúc đang viết tác phẩm cuối cùng. (The writer fell ill while writing his final work.)
Variants and Related Words
Lâm bệnh (v): The standard form meaning "to fall ill."
- Bệnh nhân lâm bệnh cách đây hai tuần. (The patient fell ill two weeks ago.)
Phát bệnh (v): To develop a disease, for an illness to manifest.
- Anh ấy phát bệnh sốt rét sau khi đi rừng. (He developed malaria after going to the forest.)
Mắc bệnh (v): To contract a disease.
- Nhiều người đã mắc bệnh trong mùa dịch. (Many people contracted the disease during the epidemic.)
Synonyms
- Fall ill: To become unwell.
- Become sick: To start being sick.
- Succumb to illness: A more formal phrase for becoming ill.
Related Idioms
Lâm trọng bịnh: To fall gravely ill.
- Cụ ông đã lâm trọng bịnh. (The elderly gentleman has fallen gravely ill.)
Lâm bịnh nan y: To be afflicted with an incurable disease.
- Bà ấy lâm bịnh nan y từ nhiều năm trước. (She was afflicted with an incurable disease many years ago.)