đa bệnh
Definition
- Adjective:
- Multimorbid / Having many illnesses: A rare, formal, or literary term describing a person who suffers from numerous diseases or chronic health conditions simultaneously. It emphasizes a state of being afflicted by multiple pathologies.
- Sickly / Valetudinary: Characterizes a person who is chronically in poor health, frail, or prone to frequent illness.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Ông cụ ấy đa bệnh, phải dùng nhiều loại thuốc mỗi ngày. (That elderly man is multimorbid and has to take many types of medicine each day.)
- Thể trạng đa bệnh khiến bà ấy rất yếu ớt. (Her sickly constitution makes her very frail.)
Advanced Usage
- This term is primarily used in formal, medical, or descriptive literary contexts. In everyday conversation, phrases like "nhiều bệnh" (many illnesses) or "ốm yếu" (sickly) are more common.
Variants and Related Words
- Đa bệnh lý (n): Multimorbidity; the condition of having multiple chronic diseases.
- Đa bệnh lý là thách thức lớn trong chăm sóc người cao tuổi. (Multimorbidity is a major challenge in elderly care.)
Synonyms
- Multimorbid: Having multiple coexisting medical conditions.
- Sickly: Often ill; in poor health.
- Valetudinary: Suffering from poor health; being a chronic invalid.
- Ailing: In poor health.
Notes
- "Đa bệnh" is a compound word formed from "đa-" (a Sino-Vietnamese prefix meaning "multi-" or "poly-") and "bệnh" (illness/disease). It is not commonly used in modern daily speech but may be found in medical descriptions or classical literature.