药片 (yào piàn) — medicinal tablet; pill (solid dose form, not ca…

Definition

noun

medicinal tabletpill (solid dose form, not capsule)

Measure word · 片

药片。
Měi tiān fàn hòu chī yí piàn yào piàn.
Take one tablet after each meal.
药片，。
Zhè xiē yào piàn yǒu diǎn r kǔ, dàn xiào guǒ hěn hǎo.
These tablets are a bit bitter but very effective.
药片。
Yī shēng ràng wǒ bǎ yào piàn jiáo suì le zài yàn.
The doctor told me to chew the tablet before swallowing.

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

片piàntablet/piece

药 medicine and 片 tablet/piece combine to mean a medicinal tablet.

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in