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禁药 (jìn yào) — banned drug; prohibited substance (often referring to doping in sports or illegal drugs)

Definition

禁药 (jìn yào) means a drug or substance that is officially banned — a formal, written term covering both doping substances in sports and illegal drugs.

noun
banned drugprohibited substance (often referring to doping in sports or illegal drugs)
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 禁药。
    Yùn dòng yuán jué duì bù néng shǐ yòng jìn yào.
    Athletes absolutely must not use banned drugs.
  • 禁药，。
    Yī shēng gào sù wǒ zhè xiē yào shì jìn yào, bù néng suí biàn chī.
    The doctor told me these medicines are banned drugs and cannot be taken casually.
  • 禁药。
    Zhèng fǔ yán lì dǎ jī xiāo shòu jìn yào de xíng wéi.
    The government severely cracks down on the sale of banned drugs.

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.

禁jìnprohibited
药yàodrug

禁 and 药 combine to mean a drug that is prohibited.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
示示shìaltar
Sound part声符shēngfú
林
林lín禁jìn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

禁 has 林 above 示, an altar. The 林 part gives the sound, and the altar part connects the character to taboo or restricted matters.

Open 禁 →

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 & TreatmentSports & Athletics

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