藥

🇹🇼🇭🇰🇰🇷

药

🇨🇳

薬

🇯🇵

medicine

HSK 10 N3

Nature →Plants →Grasses

yào

ヤク

くすり

약

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 樂 represents the sound.

Components

Traditional (藥)

艹 grass (top)+ 樂 music =

藥 medicine

艹 Meaning component

cao grass (top)

grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

樂 Phonetic component

music

View phonetic series →

Simplified (药)

艹 grass (top)+ 约 agreement =

药 medicine

艹 Meaning component

cao grass (top)

grass

艹 is a component form of 艸.

约 Phonetic component

yuē agreement

treaty, agreement, covenant

View phonetic series →

Notes

Historical Evolution

Bronze

Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Seal

Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical

Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical

Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical

Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical

Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)

藥

Regular

Modern

Chinese

药 / 藥 [yào]

medicine; drug; substance used for a specific purpose (e.g. poisoning, explosion, fermenting); CL:種|种[zhǒng],服[fù],味[wèi]; to poison

Japanese

薬くすり、クスリ同音

noun

medicine; pharmaceuticals; (legal) drugs; pill; ointment; salve
efficacious chemical (gunpowder, pesticide, etc.)
(pottery) glaze
(illegal) drug; narcotic (esp. クスリ)
small bribe

薬やく、ヤク同音

noun slang dope; narcotic; drug

Example Sentences

🇯🇵 (2)

この薬を飲めば、あなたは頭痛が治るでしょう。

The medicine will cure your headache.

この薬はごきぶりを退治するのに効果的だ。

This poison is very effective in getting rid of roaches.

Japanese Names

薬くすり

Kusuri surname

CHINESE WORDS (194)

medical care and medicines

中药 [Zhōngyào] #44,172

(traditional) Chinese medicine

agricultural chemical

服药 [fúyào] #8,424

to take medicine

184 more items

JAPANESE WORDS (200)

190 more items

KOREAN WORDS (22)

탄약 #21,510

ammunition

농약 #23,537

agricultural chemicals; agrichemicals

12 more items