眼药 (yǎn yào) — eye drops, eye medicine | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

eye dropseye medicine

Examples

眼药。
Yī shēng gěi wǒ kāi le yì píng yǎn yào.
The doctor prescribed me a bottle of eye drops.
，眼药。
Nǐ yǎn jing hóng hóng de, yīng gāi shàng diǎn yǎn yào.
Your eyes are red; you should put in some eye drops.
眼药，。
Zhè zhǒng yǎn yào hěn yǒu xiào, sān tiān jiù hǎo le.
This kind of eye medicine is very effective; it was fine in three days.

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.

药yàomedicine

“眼” (eye) and “药” (medicine) combine to mean medicine for the eyes.

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.

目艮眼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

目目mùeye

Sound part声符shēngfú

艮

艮gèn眼yǎn

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

眼 combines 目, which is an eye, with 艮, which gives the character's sound.

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

Medicine & Treatment

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