新药 (xīn yào) — new drug, new medicine

Definition

noun

new drugnew medicine

Measure word · 种

Examples

新药。
Zhè zhǒng xīn yào zhèng zài lín chuáng shì yàn zhōng.
This new drug is currently in clinical trials.
新药。
Kē xué jiā men kāi fā le yì zhǒng zhì liáo ái zhèng de xīn yào.
Scientists have developed a new medicine for treating cancer.
新药。
Guó jiā yào jiān jú pī zhǔn le zhè zhǒng xīn yào shàng shì.
The National Medical Products Administration approved this new drug for market.

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.

新xīnnew

药yàomedicine

新 'new' plus 药 'medicine' means a newly developed drug.

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.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

斤斤jīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

辛

辛xīn新xīn

Same sound today

The shape originally paired 斤, for chopping wood, with 辛 for sound. It was borrowed for its sound to write 新, so the chopping-wood parts are unrelated to 'new'.

Open 新 →

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.

艹樂藥

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 →