服药 (fú yào) — to take medicine (formal, written style)

Definition

Formal/written verb meaning 'to take medicine'. Unlike the everyday 吃药, 服药 is used in medical instructions, prescriptions, and clinical contexts.

verb

to take medicine (formal, written style)

服药。
Qǐng àn shuō míng měi tiān fú yào sān cì.
Please take the medicine three times daily according to the instructions.
服药。
Yī shēng jiàn yì fàn hòu fú yào.
The doctor recommends taking the medicine after meals.
。
Tā zǎo shàng yǐ jīng fú guò yí cì yào le.
He already took the medicine once this morning.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

药yàomedicine

服 gives take and 药 gives medicine, so the word means to take medicine.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠬝

𠬝𠬝服fú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 服, the part 𠬝 was the original picture for 'to subdue'; the added left part 凡, a tray, later changed shape.

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.

Appears in