发烧
to have a fever
fāshāo
What does 发烧 mean?
发烧 (fāshāo) is the everyday verb for 'to have a fever' or 'to run a temperature.' Literally it means 'to emit/develop heat' — 发 ('to give off') + 烧 ('to burn'). Unlike English, Chinese uses a single verb here rather than 'have + noun,' so you say 我发烧了 ('I have a fever now'), not 我有烧 or 我有发烧. The 了 marks the onset of the state.
To give a number, add 度 ('degrees'): 发烧三十九度 ('a fever of 39°C'). The related noun is just 烧 in informal usage (退烧 'bring the fever down,' 退烧药 'fever medicine'). In slang, 发烧 can also describe being passionately obsessed with a hobby — 发烧友 ('enthusiast / fanboy,' as in audio 发烧友 'audiophiles'), but the medical sense is by far the most common.
Character breakdown
to send out; to emit; to develop
to burn; to heat
Memory hook: 发 ('to give off') + 烧 ('to burn') — the body is giving off heat, the literal picture of a fever.
Example sentences
孩子发烧了，快带他去医院。
Háizi fāshāo le, kuài dài tā qù yīyuàn.
The child has a fever — take him to the hospital right away.
spoken
我有点儿感冒，还发烧了。
Wǒ yǒudiǎnr gǎnmào, hái fāshāo le.
I have a bit of a cold, and I'm running a fever too.
spoken
你发烧多少度？
Nǐ fāshāo duōshao dù?
How high is your fever?
spoken
吃了药以后，他的烧退了。
Chī le yào yǐhòu, tā de shāo tuì le.
After taking the medicine, his fever came down.
neutral
我昨天发了高烧，今天才好一点儿。
Wǒ zuótiān fā le gāoshāo, jīntiān cái hǎo yìdiǎnr.
I had a high fever yesterday — only today am I feeling a little better.
spoken
Common phrases with 发烧
Synonyms
发热 is the more formal / medical term used in clinics and on packaging ('fever / pyrexia'). In daily speech, always say 发烧.
Don't confuse 发烧 with
FAQ
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