药
yào
Medicine
Main term
Medical Chinese dictionary
Medicine in Chinese: 药 (yào)
Medicine in Chinese is 药 (yào) (Traditional: 藥). 药 (yào) means medication. Medicine as a field is 医学 (yīxué); medical is 医疗 (yīliáo) or 医学的.
Character breakdown
艹 (plant radical) + 约 (phonetic part): medicine was originally herbal.
Simplified and Traditional
Simplified: 药. Traditional (Taiwan, Hong Kong): 藥. Pinyin: yào.
How native speakers say it
吃药 (chī yào): Take medicine (literally 'eat medicine'); 打针 (dǎzhēn): Have an injection; 打点滴 (dǎ diǎndī): Have an IV drip
Also searched as
medicine in Mandarin; medical in Mandarin
High-yield phrases
吃药
chī yào
Take medicine (literally 'eat medicine')
What patients actually say
打针
dǎzhēn
Have an injection
What patients actually say
打点滴
dǎ diǎndī
Have an IV drip
What patients actually say
医学
yīxué
Medicine (the field)
Related term
药物
yàowù
Medication (formal)
Related term
处方
chǔfāng
Prescription
Related term
您现在在吃什么药？
Nín xiànzài zài chī shénme yào?
What medicines are you taking now?
Example sentence
Example clinical dialogue
doctor
您现在在吃什么药？
Nín xiànzài zài chī shénme yào?
What medicines are you taking now?
Common mistakes
- Learn 药 inside full clinical questions, not as an isolated word, so you recognise it when patients use it.
FAQ
What is medicine in Chinese?
Medicine in Chinese is 药 (yào) (Traditional: 藥).
How do Chinese patients say medicine?
吃药 (chī yào): Take medicine (literally 'eat medicine'); 打针 (dǎzhēn): Have an injection; 打点滴 (dǎ diǎndī): Have an IV drip
How do I use 药 with a patient?
您现在在吃什么药？ (Nín xiànzài zài chī shénme yào?): "What medicines are you taking now?"