TongTong
Sign in

行医 (xíng yī) — to practice medicine (as a career/profession)

Definition

行 (xíng) here is a formal verb meaning 'to carry out', so 行医 means to practice medicine as one's profession. It frames medicine as a career, not a one-time act like 看病 ('to see a doctor').

verb
to practice medicine (as a career/profession)

Examples

  • 行医。
    Tā dà xué bì yè hòu jiù kāi shǐ xíng yī le.
    He started practicing medicine right after graduating from university.
  • 行医。
    Zhè wèi lǎo zhōng yī yǐ jīng xíng yī sì shí nián le.
    This veteran Chinese medicine doctor has been practicing medicine for forty years.
  • 。
    Tā zài fēi zhōu xíng guò liǎng nián yī.
    He practiced medicine in Africa for two years.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

行xíngpractice
医yīmedicine

行 means practice and 医 means medicine, together describing practicing medicine.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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 醫; 医 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
酉酉yǒuliquor
Sound part声符shēngfú
殹
殹yì醫yī
Same sound today

The traditional form 醫 pairs 酉 (liquor) with 殹 as a sound part; the simplified 医 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 医 →
Appears in
Medicine & TreatmentProfessions & Jobs

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.