疗法 (liáo fǎ) — therapy; treatment (medical)

Definition

A noun naming a specific method of treatment, e.g. 物理疗法 'physical therapy'. Compare 治疗, the verb meaning 'to treat (an illness)'.

noun
therapytreatment (medical)
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 疗法。
    Wù lǐ liáo fǎ duì huī fù hěn yǒu bāng zhù.
    Physical therapy is very helpful for recovery.
  • 疗法。
    Yī shēng tuī jiàn le yì zhǒng xīn de liáo fǎ.
    The doctor recommended a new treatment.
  • 疗法。
    Zhōng yī liáo fǎ zài zhōng guó hěn shòu huān yíng.
    Traditional Chinese medicine therapy is very popular in China.

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.

疗liáotreat
法fǎmethod

疗 means treat and 法 means method, so it names a method of treatment.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 療; 疗 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nèdisease
Sound part声符shēngfú
尞
尞liáo療liáo
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.

Open 疗 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid
Sound part声符shēngfú
盍
盍hé法fǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.

Open 法 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Medicine & Treatment5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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