衰弱

• Pinyin: shuāi ruò
• Hanzi breakdown: 衰 = 亠 + 口 + 衣 (decline); 弱 = 弓 + 彡 repeated (feeble)

Meaning

Weak; feeble; debilitated. Describes a state of significantly reduced physical or mental strength.

Used in medical contexts for constitutional weakness or post-illness states. Also applied to declining national or institutional power in political and historical writing.

Examples

1. 他术后身体十分衰弱，需要长期静养。 After surgery, he was extremely weak and needed long-term rest and recovery.
2. 长期营养不良会导致儿童体质逐渐衰弱。 Long-term malnutrition can gradually leave children increasingly frail.
3. 国家经济衰弱时，社会稳定性也随之下降。 When a country’s economy weakens, social stability tends to decline as well.

Usage Guide

Context: medical, politics, academic

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 病人住院期间体力极度衰弱，无法自行起身。(The patient was extremely physically weak during hospitalisation and could not get up unaided.)
• 该政权因内部腐败而日益衰弱，最终走向崩溃。(The regime grew increasingly weak due to internal corruption and eventually collapsed.)

Don't Say

• 我今天感觉衰弱 — use 虚弱 in everyday speech; 衰弱 sounds more clinical and implies significant systemic decline

Origin & History

衰 (decline) + 弱 (weak)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal