感冒

• Pinyin: gǎn mào
• Hanzi breakdown: 感 = 咸 (all, phonetic) + 心 (heart), meaning to feel; 冒 = 冃 (hat) + 目 (eye), meaning to emit or brave

Meaning

Common cold; to catch a cold. The most everyday term for the common cold illness.

As a noun, 感冒 refers to the common cold. As a verb, it means to catch a cold. In colloquial usage, 不感冒 can figuratively mean having no interest in something or someone. Distinguished from 流感 (influenza), which is more serious.

Examples

1. 天气变冷了，很多人都感冒了。 The weather has gotten colder, and many people have caught colds.
2. 你感冒了应该多喝热水。 You should drink more hot water since you have a cold.
3. 这次感冒特别严重，我咳嗽了一个星期。 This cold was particularly bad. I coughed for a whole week.

Usage Guide

Context: health, everyday

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 我感冒了，今天不能去上班。(I caught a cold. I can't go to work today.)
• 多穿点衣服，小心感冒。(Wear more clothes. Be careful not to catch a cold.)

Don't Say

• 我感冒了流感。(Don't combine 感冒 with 流感 — 感冒 is a common cold, 流感 is influenza. Say 我得了流感 for the flu)

Origin & History

Compound of 感 (to feel, to sense) and 冒 (to emit, to brave). Originally meant to be affected by wind and cold pathogens in traditional Chinese medicine.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal