Definition
脚气 has two distinct disease meanings: the common colloquial sense is athlete's foot (a fungal infection on the feet), and the medical sense is beriberi (a vitamin B1 deficiency causing nerve and heart problems). In everyday conversation it almost always means athlete's foot. The character 脚 means 'foot' and 气 here refers to 'air' or 'gas', which is a relic of traditional Chinese medicine terminology.
n.
athlete's foot (colloquial)beriberi (medical)
Examples
- 脚气，。Wǒ zuìjìn dé le jiǎ, jiǎo hěn yǎng.I recently got athlete's foot, and my feet are very itchy.
- ，脚气。Guòqù chuán shàng quēshǎo xīnxiān shūcài, hěnduō shuǐshǒu dé le jiǎ.In the past, ships lacked fresh vegetables, and many sailors got beriberi.
- 脚气，。Yīshēng shuō wǒ zhè bú shì jiǎ, shì pǔtōng de pífū guòmǐn.The doctor said I don't have athlete's foot; it's just a common skin allergy.
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