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制药 (zhì yào) — to manufacture medicine

Definition

制药 (zhì yào) means 'to manufacture/produce medicine' and focuses on the industrial process of making drugs, unlike taking or selling medicine. It often appears in compound nouns like 制药厂 (pharmaceutical factory).

verb
to manufacture medicine

Examples

  • 制药。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī zhuān zhù yú zhì yào.
    This company specializes in manufacturing medicine.
  • 制药。
    zhì yào Xū yào yán gé zūn shǒu ān quán biāo zhǔn.
    Manufacturing medicine requires strict adherence to safety standards.
  • 。
    Tā men zhì le jǐ zhǒng xīn yào.
    They manufactured several new drugs.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

制zhìmake
药yàomedicine

“制” means to make and “药” means medicine, so the word means to make medicine.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The form 制 pairs 朱 (tree) with 刀 (knife), showing the act of cutting a tree.

Open 制 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 藥; 药 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
樂
樂lè藥yào
Same sound today

In the traditional form 藥, 艹 shows grass and 樂 gives the sound; this story is about 藥, not about the simplified 药.

Open 药 →
Appears in
Industry & ManufacturingMedicine & Treatment

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