# bị bệnh meaning in Vietnamese: to be ill (A1)

> bị bệnh means “to be ill, to get sick” in Vietnamese. Examples with audio, in Northern and Southern wording.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/bi-benh/ · Updated 2026-10-31

**bị bệnh**: be ill

Level: A1 (our estimate)

Typed without accents: bi benh

## 1. be ill (verb)

to be ill, to get sick

In Hà Nội: *bị ốm*. Followed by an illness, it names it: *bị bệnh tim*, to have heart disease.

- Saigon: Hôm qua em bị bệnh. | Hà Nội: Hôm qua em bị ốm. — I was sick yesterday.
- Saigon: Con bị bệnh nên không đi học. | Hà Nội: Con bị ốm nên không đi học. — I'm sick, so I'm not going to school.

In Hà Nội you say [bị ốm](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/bi-om/#s_bi_om).

Saigon only

Previous: [bị](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/bi-suffer/)
Next: [bị ốm](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/bi-om/)

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