东亚病夫 dōng yà bìng fū

the sick man of East Asia; weak, sick China

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 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

Character Meaning
east; surname Dong
Asia; Asian; sub-
to fall ill; illness; disease
husband; man; manual worker