药 (yào) is a Chinese character meaning “medicine”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 约 (to bind; an agreed amount), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “medicine”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 约
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 藥，治病草也。从艸樂聲（简化字「药」的声符写作「约」）
Memory aid
Plants (艹) handed over in an agreed measure (约): herbs alone are just weeds, but weighed out to the promised dose they become medicine. Both parts are really in this character.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 中药zhōng yàotraditional Chinese medicine药 = yào
- 药店yào diànpharmacy; drugstore药 = yào
- 药丸yào wánpill药 = yào
- 泻药xiè yàolaxative; purgative药 = yào
- 炸药zhà yàoexplosive; dynamite药 = yào
- 药剂yào jìmedicinal preparation; pharmaceutical agent药 = yào
Go deeper
All readings
medicine
medicine; drug; remedy; certain chemicals (as in gunpowder or pesticide)
治病的东西；也指某些有特定作用的化学物品，如火药、农药。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 中药zhōng yàotraditional Chinese medicine药 = yào
- 药店yào diànpharmacy; drugstore药 = yào
- 药丸yào wánpill药 = yào
- 泻药xiè yàolaxative; purgative药 = yào
- 炸药zhà yàoexplosive; dynamite药 = yào
- 药剂yào jìmedicinal preparation; pharmaceutical agent药 = yào
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 药 mean?
药 (yào) means medicine; drug; remedy; certain chemicals (as in gunpowder or pesticide).
How do you pronounce 药?
It is pronounced yào.
What parts is 药 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 约 (to bind; an agreed amount), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 藥，治病草也。从艸樂聲（简化字「药」的声符写作「约」）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 药 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 药?
艹. 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 药?
Common ones are 中药 and 药店. The reading of 药 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.