(liáo) — (bound form) to treat (an illness), to cure; therapy, recuperation

Definition

疗 is a bound form meaning 'treatment / to treat (an illness)' — it only appears in compound words like 疗程, 疗养, 疗效. The verb on its own is 治疗.

bound form
to treat (an illness)to curetherapyrecuperation

Examples

  • Zhè zhǒng bìng xū yào cháng qī zhì liáo.
    This illness requires long-term treatment.
  • Tā qù yī yuàn jìn xíng liáo yǎng le.
    He went to the hospital to recuperate.
  • Zhěng gè liáo chéng dà yuē xū yào sān gè yuè.
    The entire course of treatment takes about three months.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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 療; 疗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
disease
Sound part声符shēngfú
liáoliáo
Same sound today

The traditional form 療 has 疒 for disease and 尞 for the sound; the simplified 疗 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical ones.

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