求医

• Pinyin: qiú yī
• Hanzi breakdown: 求 = 求 (seek); 医 = 医 (medicine/doctor; originally depicts healing tools and medicinal wine)

Meaning

To seek medical treatment; to consult a doctor; to look for medical care, often implying active effort or persistence in obtaining diagnosis and treatment.

More formal and literary than 看病. 辗转求医 (seek treatment from doctor to doctor), 四处求医 (seek medical care everywhere) implies difficulty obtaining care. Common in literary, journalistic, and social policy contexts. Carries connotations of effort and sometimes desperation in accessing medical help.

Examples

1. 他多年来辗转于各大医院求医问诊，却始终未能获得明确的病因诊断。 For years, he went from one major hospital to another seeking treatment and consultations, yet still never received a clear diagnosis of the cause.
2. 由于偏远山区医疗资源极度匮乏，当地居民往往需要跋山涉水才能求医。 Because medical resources in remote mountain areas are extremely scarce, local residents often have to travel long distances over difficult terrain just to see a doctor.
3. 这部纪录片记录了一位绝症患者在生命最后阶段四处求医的艰辛历程与坚韧精神。 This documentary records the grueling journey of a terminally ill patient seeking treatment in many places during the final stage of life, and the resilience they showed.

Usage Guide

Context: health, medical, social welfare, narrative

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 医疗资源分配不均迫使大量农村居民进城求医，加剧了城市医疗机构的诊疗压力。(The uneven distribution of medical resources compels large numbers of rural residents to travel to cities to seek medical care, intensifying the diagnostic pressure on urban medical institutions.)
• 政府推行分级诊疗制度，旨在引导患者理性有序地就近求医，避免优质医疗资源的严重浪费。(The government is implementing a tiered medical treatment system aimed at guiding patients to seek medical care in an orderly manner at nearby institutions, avoiding serious waste of quality medical resources.)

Don't Say

• 他每次头疼都要求医 — use 去看医生 or 看病 for routine doctor visits; 求医 suggests actively and persistently seeking medical care, often for a serious or chronic condition, not a minor everyday ailment

Origin & History

求 (seek) + 医 (medicine/doctor) — to seek medical care

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal