Must Know Coronavirus (COVID-19) Chinese Words & Sentences

Updated on December 27, 2022

Welcome to Ming Mandarin’s free online Mandarin Chinese lessons. In this lesson, we’ll learn words and sentences related to novel coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19 pandemic).  

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Let’s learn how to say novel coronavirus in Mandarin Chinese, and related phrases.

• Lesson 1 (Level 1): Common Mandarin Chinese Verbs with Examples
• Lesson 1 (Level 2): How To Say “To Think” With 以为 In Chinese?
• Lesson 1 (Level 3): Learn Must Know Famous Chinese Idioms
• Lesson 1 (Level 4): 2 Must Know Famous Ancient Chinese Poems
• Lesson 1 (Level 5): Chinese Reading Practice with Pinyin & English

Part 1: Covid-19 basics

1. New/novel: xīn (新)
2. Hat/crown/corona: guān (冠)
3. Shape: zhuànɡ (状)
4. Virus: bìnɡdú (病毒)
5. Covid-19 (the disease identified in 2019): 2019 冠状病毒病 (xīn zhuànɡ bìnɡdú bìnɡ)
6. SARS-CoV-2 virus (the virus causing Covid-19 disease): xīnxínɡ guānzhuànɡ bìnɡdú (新型冠状病毒)
7. Pandemic: dà liúxíng(大流行)
8. Covid-19 pandemic: 2019 guānzhuàng bìngdú bìng dà liúxíng (2019冠狀病毒病大流行)

So, how to say novel coronavirus in Mandarin Chinese? Simple: just say:

• xīnxínɡ guānzhuànɡ bìnɡdú (新型冠状病毒). Literally: “crown shaped virus”

However, this long Chinese phrase (for SARS-CoV-2 virus) is often abbreviated as:

• xīn guān (新冠)
• xīn guān bìnɡdú (新冠病毒)

Pro tip: Do you remember the differences between Covid-19 and SARS-CoV-2 virus? Well, Covid-19 is the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Think about the differences between AIDS and HIV. With respect to Covid-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 virus is like HIV. Covid-19 is like AIDS. 🙂

Part 2: Face mask

• Face mask (口罩, kǒu zhào)
• Surgical mask (yīyònɡ wàikē kǒuzhào, 医用外科口罩)
• N95 mask/respirator: N95 kǒuzhào (N95 口罩)
• To wear a mask/hat/necklace: dài (戴)
• You must wear a mask when you go out (Nǐ chūmén yīdìnɡ yào dài kǒuzhào, 你出门一定要戴口罩)

Part 3: Spread of Covid-19

• Spread: màn yán (蔓延)
• The virus is spreading all over the country: Bìnɡdú zhènɡzài quánɡuó mànyán (病毒正在全国蔓延)

Part 4: Quarantine

• Quarantine: ɡé lí (隔离)
• Those who have been on this train have been isolated: Zuòɡuò zhè tànɡ lièchē de dōu bèi ɡélíle  (坐过这趟列车的都被隔离了)

Part 5: Infection

• Infect: ɡǎn rǎn (感染)
• How many people are confirmed to be infected with the virus in our city: Xiànzài wǒmen shì quèrèn ɡǎnrǎn bìnɡdúde yǒu duōshao rén (现在我们市确认感染病毒的有多少人)

Part 6: Disinfect

• Disinfectant: xiāo dú yè (消毒液)
• To disinfect: xiāo dú (消毒)
• I’m going to the supermarket to buy disinfectant: wǒ yào qù chāoshì mǎi xiāodúyè (我要去超市买消毒液)

Part 7: Covid-19 cases

• Confirmed case: quèzhěn bìnɡlì (确诊病例)
• Suspected case: yísì bìnɡlì (疑似病例)
• Death case: sǐwánɡ bìnɡlì (死亡病例)
• 20 cases has been confirmed today: Jīntiān chūxiàn le 20 lì quèzhěn bìnɡlì (今天出现了20例确诊病例)

Part 8: Droplet transmission

• Droplet transmission: fēimò chuánbō (飞沫传播)
• The 2019-nCoV will spread through droplets: Xīnxínɡ guānzhuànɡ bìnɡdú huì tōnɡɡuò fēimò chuánbō (新型冠状病毒会通过飞沫传播)

Part 9: Food

• Bat: biān fú (蝙蝠)
• Game (as food): yě wèi (野味)
• Refuse to eat wild game and protect wild animals: Jùjué chī yěwèi, bǎohù yěshēnɡ dònɡwù (拒绝吃野味，保护野生动物)

Part 10: Lockdown

• Lockdown: fēnɡ chénɡ (封城)
• In order to control the spread of the virus, Wuhan decided to lockdown: Wèile èzhì yìqínɡ kuòsàn mànyán, Wǔhàn shì juédìnɡ “fēnɡ chénɡ” (为了遏制疫情扩散蔓延,武汉市决定”封城”)

How do you feel these Covid-19 words and sentences? Let me know in the comments. 🙂

-Jia