药 (yào) — medicine
Definition
Everyday word for medicine you take when sick. 药物 and 药品 are more formal, used in medical or commercial contexts.
noun
medicine
Measure word · 种, 服, 味
Examples
- 药，。Wǒ chī le yào, xiàn zài hǎo duō le.I took medicine, and now I feel much better.
- 药。Zhè zhǒng yào shì tián de.This kind of medicine is sweet.
- 药。Mā ma gěi wǒ mǎi le hěn duō yào.Mom bought me a lot of medicine.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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.
Appears in
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