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JLPT N411画 · 11 strokesradical 艸grade 3freq #320

medicine, drug

On'yomi (音読み)

  • ヤク
  • ヤッ

Kun'yomi (訓読み)

  • くすり

Mnemonic

Picture a tiny person walking on a field of grass holding a magical vial of medicine, ready to cure anyone who stumbles across it.

About this kanji

The kanji 薬, pronounced as くすり (kusuri) in native Japanese and ヤク (yaku) in Sino-Japanese, primarily means "medicine" or "drug." It is generally used as a noun. You will often see it in compounds like 薬屋 (くすりや), meaning "pharmacy," where you can buy various medications. Another compound is 薬品 (やくひん), which refers to "medication" more generally. Additionally, 飲薬 (いんやく) means "medicine to be taken orally," indicating its use in treatment. A useful note is that while 薬 generally refers to medicine, it can also encompass various substances that affect health.

Built from

Example sentences

  • この薬はとても効きます。

    This medicine works very well.

Meanings across languages

English
medicine, drug
Tiếng Việt
thuốc, dược
日本語
薬, くすり
한국어
中文
id
obat
th
ยา
es
medicina
fr
médicament
de
Medikament
pt
medicamento

Common compounds

  • 薬屋くすりやpharmacy, drugstore
  • 薬品やくひんmedication, chemical
  • 飲薬いんやくmedicine to be taken orally

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