蒙汗药 (méng hàn yào) — knockout drops; anesthetic (in historical or fi…

Definition

A drug used in wuxia fiction and historical tales to make someone lose consciousness so they can be robbed or captured. Not used for real medicine.

noun

knockout dropsanesthetic (in historical or fictional contexts)

，蒙汗药。
Xiǎo shuō lǐ, huài rén yòng méng hàn yào bǎ kè rén mí dǎo le.
In the novel, the villain used knockout drops to put the guest to sleep.
，蒙汗药。
Gǔ dài jiāng hú zhōng, méng hàn yào shì yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de àn qì.
In ancient martial arts circles, knockout drops were a common covert weapon.
蒙汗药，。
Tā bèi rén xià le méng hàn yào, xǐng lái shí fā xiàn zì jǐ bèi bǎng zhù le.
He was drugged with knockout drops and woke up to find himself tied up.

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.

艹冡蒙

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

冡

冡měng蒙méng

Same sound today

蒙 combines 艹 (grass) with 冡, which supplies the sound.

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

干

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

汗 has 水, the water form, beside 干; 水 relates to liquid sweat, while 干 gives the 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.