药

• 拼音: yào
• 汉字拆解: 药 = 艹 (grass radical) + 约 (simplified phonetic) — medicine from plants; traditional form 藥 uses 樂 as phonetic

含义

Medicine or medication. Refers to substances used to treat illness.

This is the general word for medicine in Chinese. Common phrases include 吃药 (chī yào, to take medicine), 中药 (zhōngyào, traditional Chinese medicine), and 西药 (xīyào, Western medicine). The measure word for medicine is typically 种 (zhǒng, type) or 片 (piàn, tablet). Related words include 药店 (yàodiàn, pharmacy) and 药房 (yàofáng, dispensary).

例句

1. 你吃药了吗？
2. 医生说要吃三天的药。
3. 这种药一天吃两次。

用法指南

语境: health, daily life

语气: neutral

正确说法

• 别忘了吃药。(Don't forget to take your medicine.)
• 这个药很有用。(This medicine is very effective.)

错误说法

• 我喝了药 (Incorrect verb for most medicine — say 我吃了药; in Chinese, 吃药 is the standard expression for taking medicine, even for liquid forms; 喝药 is only used specifically for liquid medicine)

起源与历史

The simplified character 药 comes from the traditional 藥, which combines 艹 (cǎo, grass/plant radical) on top with 樂 (yuè/lè, music/joy) below. The grass radical indicates that early medicines were plant-based herbs.

文化背景

世代: All ages

社会背景: Universal