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中医 (Zhōng yī) — traditional Chinese medicine (the medical system); a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine

Definition

中医 is specifically traditional Chinese medicine (the system or a practitioner) — distinct from 中药 (the herbs/remedies themselves) and from 医学 (medicine/science in general, usually Western).

noun
traditional Chinese medicine (the medical system)a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 中医。
    Wǒ zuì jìn zài chī Zhōng yī kāi de yào.
    I've been taking medicine prescribed by a Chinese medicine doctor lately.
  • 中医。
    Hěn duō rén xiāng xìn Zhōng yī néng zhì màn xìng bìng.
    Many people believe Chinese medicine can treat chronic diseases.
  • 中医。
    Tā zài dà xué xué le wǔ nián Zhōng yī.
    She studied Chinese medicine at university for five years.

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.

中zhōngChina
医yīmedicine

The China meaning specifies the tradition, while medicine gives the field.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

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 醫; 医 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
酉酉yǒuliquor
Sound part声符shēngfú
殹
殹yì醫yī
Same sound today

The traditional form 醫 pairs 酉 (liquor) with 殹 as a sound part; the simplified 医 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 医 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5Medicine & TreatmentTraditional Medicine & Philosophy

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