麻药 (má yào) — anesthetic | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

anesthetic

麻药。
Shǒu shù qián yī shēng gěi tā dǎ le má yào.
The doctor gave him an anesthetic before the surgery.
麻药，。
Yá yī xiān yòng le jú bù má yào, suǒ yǐ bá yá shí bù téng.
The dentist first used a local anesthetic, so the tooth extraction didn't hurt.
麻药。
Zhè zhǒng má yào de xiào guǒ kě yǐ chí xù jǐ gè xiǎo shí.
The effect of this anesthetic can last for several hours.

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

麻 means numb and 药 means medicine, so the word names a drug that causes numbness.

Characters in this word

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

麻 combines 厂 and 𣏟 to represent hemp leaves.

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.

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