How to say “coronavirus” in Chinese?

The current coronavirus outbreak has taken its toll on us. The evening news has been talking non-stop about the death tolls, the latest border controls in various countries, the infections, the unlucky cruise ships, and many different opinions offered by many experts. We are perplexed, we are in pain, and we are in a crisis.

Panic definitely won’t help. Knowing more about the virus might help calm us down. Over the past weeks, I have learned quite a number of interesting facts about the novel coronavirus. The word “coronavirus” is one of them. This epidemic seems to offer me a chance to learn some new words which I would not even think about learning. Perhaps, I can do the same thing, offering students who are learning Chinese a chance to learn some new words related to this epidemic.

Below is a list of must known words in Chinese, all related to the current epidemic.

• “novel coronavirus”, the current enemy of world at large: 新型冠状病毒
• “pneumonia”, the disease caused by the coronavirus: 肺炎
• “lockdown (a city)”, the measure Chinese government took to stop the spreading from city to city: 封城
• “quarantine”, the method to stop the spreading from human to human: 隔离
• “infections”, the unfortunate ones who are invaded by the enemy: 感染者
• “immune system”, the front line of the human body to fight the virus: 免疫系统
• “incubation period”, the length of time for us to tell whether we are lucky or not: 潜伏期
• “face mask”, the weapon normal folks use to fight the virus: 口罩
• “wash hands”, an effective way of keeping the virus at a distance: 洗手
• “suspected cases”, a suspension that we can only hope for the best: 疑似病例
• “confirmed cases”, the devastating disaster that will be broadcasted widely: 确诊病例
• “discharge from hospital”, the good news for those who are cured: 出院
• “death toll”, a statistic number that makes to the history: 死亡病例

I hope you have enjoyed learning these news words in Chinese. The more we know, the better we feel, coronavirus or not. 

Also, I released two new videos recently, teaching beginner students how to read and write numbers in Chinese. Check them out here. 

Stay safe, remain healthy, and keep learning.