to catch paraflu

8.1

To get a mild illness that feels like the flu

phrasal verb

: contagiarse de paraflu

After a weekend outdoors, he caught paraflu and had to cancel his plans.

Examples

She worries her son might catch paraflu from his classmates.
I hope I don't catch paraflu this winter.
Last year, several students caught paraflu during final exams week.
She caught paraflu last month.
After spending time with his sick friend, he caught paraflu and had to stay home to recover.
Many people in the office caught paraflu, leading to a wave of sick days last month.
She was relieved when her daughter didn't catch paraflu after her classmate fell ill.

Synonyms

to catch cold

vsto catch paraflu

40 1.0

To become ill with a cold after being cold or near someone sick

means infection resembling influenza rather than illness from chilly exposure

to catch a cold

vsto catch paraflu

23 1.0

To become sick with a common illness that makes your nose and throat sore

means an infection similar to influenza rather than the common mild nasal infection

Antonyms

to recover

865 2.5

Get back to a normal state after a loss, for example health or money

Surface Forms

catch paraflu infinitive

catching paraflu present participle

catches paraflu third person singular

caught paraflu past

caught paraflu past participle

Morphology

catch + paraflu

The expression follows the regular compositional pattern 'catch + disease' (as in 'catch a cold' or 'catch the flu'), so a B1 learner who knows 'catch' (to contract an illness) and the noun 'paraflu' would directly infer 'become infected with paraflu'. This construction is a common, cross-linguistic way to name contracting illnesses and is therefore transparent.

Etymology

The verb catch paraflu comes from a simple image: someone near a person who coughs or sneezes and then they catch a mild, flu-like sickness. That's why saying you caught paraflu means 'to become infected with paraflu'.