Meaning

Primary

Mental Illness

Alternative

Mental Disorder

Word Type

noun

Explanation

精神 is your spirit, both religiously and spiritually. When those are sick, you have a problem. Back in the day, a mental illness was thought to be a sickness with your spirit. Nowadays you can just call it a mental illness or mental disorder.

Reading

せいしんびょう
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)

Explanation

This is a jukugo word, which usually means on'yomi readings from the kanji. If you know the readings of your kanji you'll know how to read this as well. Will help if you know 精神 already, though.

Context

Context Sentences

僕の友達は精神病で頭が少しイッちゃてるけど、良い人だよ。

My friend is kind of messed up in the head from some type of mental illness, but he’s a nice guy.

Kanji Composition