How to Write 医 (yī) — Meaning “medicine; doctor; medical”

Picture a doctor’s medical case (the box 匚) that contains an arrow (矢) as a remedy. The arrow can remind you of a syringe or a sharp tool used in treatment. This visual helps link the shape to the meaning of medicine or doctor.

Start with the box radical 匚: first a horizontal stroke, then a vertical line that turns right at the bottom (2 strokes total). Inside, write the 矢 component: first a left-falling stroke, then a horizontal, then a left-falling, a right-falling, and a dot. A common mistake is making the box too narrow or forgetting to close the bottom corner properly.

医 has the component 矢 (arrow) inside its box radical, while 匝 has 巾 (towel) inside and means 'circle' or 'whole'. The rare character 匛 has a different inner component (like a vessel) and is almost never used today. Focus on the inner part: 矢's dot at the lower right is unique compared to the vertical stroke of 巾.

It appears in common words like 医院 (hospital), 医生 (doctor), and 中医 (Traditional Chinese Medicine). Chinese medicine has a long history and remains widely practiced, so 医 is a very practical character. Understanding it helps you talk about health and medical care in everyday Chinese.

Common words containing 医 include: 医生 (yī shēng) — doctor; 医院 (yī yuàn) — Hospital.; 中医 (zhōng yī) — Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).