郎中 (láng) — (historical) herbal doctor, folk physician; (historical) secretary-general of a ministry; (colloquial, derogatory) trickster posing as a doctor

Definition

Historical word for a folk herbal doctor (a traditional, non-official physician). Today it survives mainly in classical/literary contexts; the derogatory 'quack' sense is the everyday spoken use.

noun
(historical) herbal doctorfolk physician(historical) secretary-general of a ministry(colloquial, derogatory) trickster posing as a doctor
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 郎中
    Zhè wèi láng yòng le jǐ wèi cǎo yào jiù bǎ tā de bìng zhì hǎo le.
    This herbal doctor cured his illness with just a few medicinal herbs.
  • 郎中
    Zài táng dài, láng shì shàng shū shěng de zhòng yào guān yuán.
    In the Tang Dynasty, the langzhong was an important official in the Department of State Affairs.
  • 郎中
    Bié xìn nà ge láng, tā zhī huì piàn qián.
    Don't trust that quack — he only knows how to swindle money.

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