方药 (fāng yào) — herbal formula; prescription (in Traditional Chinese Medicine)

Definition

方药 is the TCM term for an herbal formula — the specific prescription of combined herbs a doctor writes, not a single herb (中药) and not medicine in general (药).

noun
herbal formulaprescription (in Traditional Chinese Medicine)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 方药。
    Yī shēng gěi wǒ kāi le yí fù fāng yào.
    The doctor prescribed a herbal formula for me.
  • 方药。
    Zhè zhǒng fāng yào duì zhì liáo ké sou hěn yǒu xiào.
    This herbal formula is very effective for treating coughs.
  • 方药。
    Tā àn zhào fāng yào qù yào diàn zhuā le yào.
    He went to the pharmacy and got the medicine according to the prescription.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

方fāngprescription
药yàomedicine

方 is a prescription or formula, and 药 is medicine; together they refer to medicinal prescriptions and herbs.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 方 →

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.

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.

Open 药 →
Appears in
Medicine & TreatmentTraditional Medicine & Philosophy

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