妙方 (miào fāng) — effective medical remedy; excellent prescription; clever solution; ingenious fix (to a problem)

Definition

Literally 'wonderful recipe', 妙方 refers to a proven, often traditional remedy or a clever solution to a problem. More concrete and specific than the abstract 办法 or 方法.

noun
effective medical remedyexcellent prescriptionclever solutioningenious fix (to a problem)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 妙方。
    Zhè ge zhōng yī de miào fāng zhì hǎo le wǒ de ké sou.
    This traditional Chinese doctor's effective remedy cured my cough.
  • ，，妙方。
    Gōng zuò zhōng yù dào nán tí, duō qǐng jiào qián bèi, cháng cháng néng dé dào miào fāng.
    When encountering difficulties at work, asking seniors for advice often yields ingenious solutions.
  • 妙方。
    Gǔ jí zhōng jì zǎi le bù shǎo zhì bìng jiù rén de miào fāng.
    Many effective remedies for saving lives are recorded in ancient texts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

妙miàowonderful
方fāngremedy

妙, wonderful, specifies 方, remedy, giving an excellent prescription or solution.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
少
少shǎo妙miào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妙 combines 女, a woman, with 少, which gives the sound.

Open 妙 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 方 →

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