药剂 (yào jì) — medicine; drug (pharmaceutical preparation)

Definition

noun

medicinedrug (pharmaceutical preparation)

Measure word · 种

药剂。
Zhè zhǒng yào jì hěn yǒu xiào.
This medicine is very effective.
药剂。
Yī shēng gěi tā kāi le yì xiē yào jì.
The doctor prescribed some medicine for him.
药剂。
yào jì De jì liàng bù néng suí biàn gǎi biàn.
The dosage of the medicine cannot be changed arbitrarily.

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.

药yàomedicine

剂jìpreparation

“药” names medicine, “剂” names a prepared dose, together “medicinal preparation”.

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 藥; 药 is its simplified writing.

艹樂藥

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.

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 劑; 剂 is its simplified writing.

齊刂劑

Meaning part形符xíngfú

刂Written in full as刀dāo

Sound part声符shēngfú

齊

齊qí劑jì

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 劑, 齊 gives the sound and 刂 (刀, a knife) shows the meaning. The simplified 剂 is a later shorthand.

Appears in