肺炎

• Reading: はいえん
• Romaji: haien
• Kanji breakdown: 肺 (hai) — lungs; 炎 (en) — inflammation, flame
• Pronunciation: /hai.eɴ/

Meaning

Pneumonia; inflammation of the lungs caused by infection.

A medical noun that became widely known during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the disease was initially referred to as 新型コロナウイルス肺炎. Common collocations include 肺炎にかかる (to get pneumonia), 肺炎を起こす (to develop pneumonia), and 誤嚥性肺炎 (aspiration pneumonia). An important health vocabulary word especially relevant to elderly care.

Examples

1. インフルエンザが悪化して肺炎になってしまった。 The flu got worse and turned into pneumonia.
2. 高齢者は肺炎にかかりやすいので予防接種が大切だ。 Elderly people are prone to pneumonia, so vaccination is important.
3. 肺炎は早期発見と治療が回復の鍵となる。 Early detection and treatment are the keys to recovering from pneumonia.

Usage Guide

Context: health, medicine, news, elderly care

Tone: serious

Origin & History

From 肺 (hai, lungs) + 炎 (en, inflammation/flame). The kanji 炎 uses the fire radical doubled, representing the 'burning' sensation of inflammation.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal