ail
ail — 動詞
1. to be the source of worry, pain, or trouble for a person, group, or organization
困擾；使苦惱
為某人或某組織帶來麻煩或痛苦
to be the source of worry, pain, or trouble for a person, group, or organization — most often used in the question 'what ails X?' when asking what is wrong, or to describe deep-seated problems hurting a company, country, or system.
What ails you, my child? You have not eaten for two days.
孩子，你怎麼了？你已經兩天沒進食了。
fixed question pattern: 'what ails [someone]?'
The new prime minister promised to fix the problems ailing the country's health system.
新任首相承諾要解決困擾國家醫療體系的問題。
modern productive use: 'ailing + [system/institution]'
Rising costs and weak sales have ailed small bookshops across the city for years.
成本上漲與買氣疲弱多年來一直拖累著市區裡的小書店。
Reporters kept asking the coach what ailed his team after three losses in a row.
球隊接連輸三場後，記者不斷追問教練到底是什麼問題在困擾球隊。
Nobody at the meeting could say exactly what ailed the project, but morale was low.
會議上沒人能明確說出這項專案到底出了什麼問題，但士氣很低。
- comfort
to ease someone's distress rather than cause it
文法句型
what ails + [person/thing]?
用法筆記
Almost always literary or formal; in everyday speech, Taiwanese learners should use 'what's wrong with…' or 'what's the problem with…' instead. The participle 'ailing' is the most common modern form, used before nouns like economy, industry, company, patient, or relationship.
常見錯誤
2. to be in poor health over a long period, especially because of an illness that s
患病；衰弱
長期身體不適或狀況持續走下坡
to be in poor health over a long period, especially because of an illness that slowly gets worse — by extension, also said of an organization or thing whose condition is steadily declining.
Grandfather had been ailing all winter, and the doctor visited the farm twice a week.
祖父整個冬天都在生病，醫生每週來農場看診兩次。
progressive 'be ailing' for chronic, slow illness
The ailing pop star canceled her tour and went home to rest.
那位身體欠安的流行天后取消了巡迴演出，回家休養。
attributive 'ailing + [person]' before a noun
Investors lost faith in the ailing airline after another quarter of heavy losses.
在又一季嚴重虧損之後，投資人對這家經營不善的航空公司失去了信心。
Mrs. Chen quit her teaching job to care for her ailing mother in Tainan.
陳太太辭去教職，回台南照顧生病的母親。
After months of ailing in silence, the old poet finally agreed to see a specialist.
默默忍受病痛數月之後，老詩人終於答應去看專科醫師。
文法句型
[person] + be ailing
[person] + ail + (no object)
用法筆記
Rarely used as a finite verb in modern English ('he ails' sounds archaic). The participle form 'ailing' is alive and well — appears constantly in news writing about sick celebrities, weak companies, or troubled industries. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense focuses on the sufferer's state; sense 1 focuses on what is causing the trouble.