东亚病夫 dōng yà bìng fū

DEFINITIONS

  1. (derog.) the sick man of Asia (term used in the West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to China in its weakened state after the Opium Wars)

CHARACTERS

东 dōng
HSK 1
east, eastern, eastward
亚 yà
HSK 4
Asia; second
病 bìng
HSK 2
illness, sickness, disease
夫 fū
HSK 2
man, male adult, husband; those