chronic ailment; root cause of failure
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 6 examplesnoun
old illness that hasn't fully healed; chronic ailment
Often refers to a lingering physical condition from a past sickness, injury, or childbirth.
Tā他
nián年
qīng轻
shí时
shòu受
guò过
shāng伤
，
xiàn现
zài在
xī膝
gài盖
téng疼
shì是
nà那
shí时
de的
bìng病
gēn根
。
He was injured when he was young, and now his knee pain is a chronic ailment from that time.
Yī一
dào到
yīn阴
yǔ雨
tiān天
，
tā他
de的
lǎo老
hán寒
tuǐ腿
bìng病
gēn根
jiù就
fàn犯
le了
。
Whenever it's a damp, rainy day, his chronic rheumatism flares up.
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Zhè这
shì是
yuè月
zi子
méi没
zuò坐
hǎo好
liú留
xià下
de的
bìng病
gēn根
r儿
，
bù不
róng容
yì易
hǎo好
。
This is a chronic ailment left over from not taking proper postpartum care; it's hard to cure.
noun
root cause; fundamental reason for failure or disaster
A metaphorical usage meaning the deep-seated, underlying reason for a problem, often one that is difficult to identify or eliminate.
Guǎn管
lǐ理
céng层
bù不
tuán团
jié结
，
shì是
gōng公
sī司
xiào效
yì益
xià下
huá滑
de的
bìng病
gēn根
。
The lack of unity in management is the root cause of the company's declining profits.
Wǒ我
men们
bì必
xū须
zhǎo找
chū出
zhè这
gè个
ān安
quán全
lòu漏
dòng洞
de的
bìng病
gēn根
，
cái才
néng能
chè彻
dǐ底
jiě解
jué决
tā它
。
We must find the root cause of this security flaw to solve it completely.
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Tān贪
wū污
fǔ腐
bài败
shì是
shè社
huì会
wèn问
tí题
de的
bìng病
gēn根
suǒ所
zài在
。
Corruption is the root cause of social problems.