发烧

• Pinyin: fā shāo
• Hanzi breakdown: 发 = simplified from 發, meaning to produce; 烧 = 火 (fire) + 尧 (phonetic, simplified)

Meaning

To have a fever; to run a temperature. A condition where body temperature is abnormally high.

A common medical term used in daily conversation. Can be used as a verb-object phrase: 发了烧, 在发烧. Also used figuratively to describe irrational enthusiasm: 发烧友 (enthusiast, audiophile). The formal medical term is 发热, but 发烧 is standard in everyday speech.

Examples

1. 孩子发烧了，得赶紧去医院。 The child has a fever — we need to get to the hospital quickly.
2. 我昨天发烧到三十九度，头疼得厉害。 Yesterday I had a fever of thirty-nine degrees and a terrible headache.
3. 吃了药以后烧就退了。 After taking the medicine, the fever went down.

Usage Guide

Context: health, medical

Tone: concerned

Do Say

• 你发烧了吗？量一下体温吧。(Do you have a fever? Let's take your temperature.)
• 发烧的时候要多喝水。(Drink plenty of water when you have a fever.)

Don't Say

• 用'发烧'代替'发炎' (Don't use 发烧 when you mean inflammation — 发烧 means fever, while 发炎 means inflamed; they describe different conditions)

Origin & History

Verb-object compound of 发 (to develop, to produce) and 烧 (to burn, heat). Literally 'to produce burning heat.'

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal