Definition
中药 refers to the actual medicinal substances (herbs, minerals, animal parts) used in treatment — you take it, boil it, or drink it. 中医 is the medical system or the doctor who practices it, not the medicine itself. 草药 is a narrower subset: raw, unprocessed herbs, while 中药 includes processed formulas and pills.
noun
traditional Chinese medicine
Measure word · 服, 种
Easily confused
- 重要zhòng yàosound-alikeimportant, significant, major
Examples
- 中药。Yīshēng gěi wǒ kāi le liǎng fú zhōng yào.The doctor prescribed me two doses of traditional Chinese medicine.
- 中药，。Wǒ māma měitiān hē zhōng yào, shēntǐ hěn hǎo.My mother drinks traditional Chinese medicine every day, and she is in good health.
- 中药。Zhè zhǒng zhōng yào xūyào zhǔ hěn jiǔ.This kind of traditional Chinese medicine needs to be boiled for a long time.
Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.