How to Write 药 (yào) — Meaning “medicine; drug”

Imagine a grassy field (艹) where you make a promise (约) to take your medicine. The bottom part 约 can be broken into 讠 (speech) and 勺 (spoon), so picture yourself saying 'I will take a spoonful of herbs.' This links the components to the meaning.

Write the top radical 艹 as two vertical strokes with a horizontal line, not as three separate strokes. The bottom part 约 begins with the speech radical 讠, then the outer wrap 勹 (like a spoon) and a dot inside; a common mistake is to forget the final dot or misplace it. Make sure the whole character is balanced, with the grass radical slightly wider than the bottom.

药 has 约 below the grass radical, while 兹 has 玄 (a complex shape meaning 'dark' or 'mysterious') and 芈 has a bottom that looks like 干 (a stem). Also, 药 is HSK Level 2 and very common, whereas 兹 is rare (meaning 'now' or 'this') and 芈 is an ancient surname. Visually, 约 contains a speech radical 讠, which 兹 and 芈 do not.

药 is used for both Western medicine (药片 'pills') and Traditional Chinese Medicine (中药). In daily life, you'll see it in 吃药 ('to take medicine') and 药店 ('pharmacy'). Culturally, 中药 refers to herbal remedies and is a key part of Chinese health practices, often prepared as soups or teas.

Common words containing 药 include: 吃药 (chī yào) — to take medicine; 药店 (yào diàn) — pharmacy; drugstore; 中药 (zhōng yào) — Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).