Catch Phrase | 新冠肺炎( xīnguàn fèiyán )

Writer: Debra Li  |  Editor: Stephanie Yang  |  From:  

Meaning:

“新冠” is short for “新型冠状病毒,” which means “novel coronavirus,” and “肺炎” means “pneumonia.” Novel coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV, is a type of virus that causes respiratory illness. This may lead to inflammation and the buildup of mucus and fluids in the airway of the lungs (pneumonia). The Chinese city of Wuhan reported a pneumonia outbreak recently which turns out to be caused by a new type of coronavirus, therefore giving rise to the term “novel coronavirus-caused pneumonia.”

Example:

A: 你们学校下周开学吗?

Nǐmen xuéxiào xiàzhōu kāixué ma?

Are you returning to school next week?

B: 原计划是下周,但因为新冠肺炎寒假延长一周,下周在家上网课。

Yuán jìhuà shì xiàzhōu ,dàn yīnwèi xīnguàn fèiyán hánjià yáncháng yīzhōu,xiàzhōu zàijiā shàng wǎngkè。

We would, according to the previous arrangements. But we’ve got an extra week of winter vacation because of the novel coronavirus-caused pneumonia outbreak and will take online lessons at home instead.