医 (yī) is a Chinese character meaning “medicine”. It is written from 匚 (right-open box) and 矢 (arrow), one enclosing the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “medicine; to heal”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
匚 + 矢
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 医，盛弓弩矢器也。从匚从矢
Memory aid
An arrow (矢) shut inside an open-sided box (匚) — the arrow is pulled out of the body and locked away in the case. Both parts really are in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 医生yī shēngdoctor医 = yīHSK 1
- 医院yī yuànhospital医 = yīHSK 1
- 医疗yī liáomedical treatment; health care医 = yī
- 兽医shòu yīveterinarian; vet医 = yī
Go deeper
All readings
medicine; to heal
medicine; medical; to treat an illness; doctor
医学、医术；也指治病，或给人治病的人。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 医生yī shēngdoctor医 = yīHSK 1
- 医院yī yuànhospital医 = yīHSK 1
- 医疗yī liáomedical treatment; health care医 = yī
- 兽医shòu yīveterinarian; vet医 = yī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 医 mean?
医 (yī) means medicine; medical; to treat an illness; doctor.
How do you pronounce 医?
It is pronounced yī.
What parts is 医 made of?
匚 (right-open box) and 矢 (arrow), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 医，盛弓弩矢器也。从匚从矢. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 医 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 医?
匚. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 医?
Common ones are 医生 and 医院. The reading of 医 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.