丸
wán · HSK 7
pill
💊 药丸 = medicine + 丸 = pill; a 丸 is anything small and round
丸 names a small round mass: a pellet, a ball, or a pill. It shows up in 丸子 (meatball) and 药丸 (medicine pill). The character is a rounded form, fitting for things that roll.
丸 — 九 nine + dot 丶
Originally a pictograph showing a small round object or pellet, depicting something that can be rolled. The modern form resembles 九 with a dot, but historically it derives from 仄 inverted, suggesting something tipping or rolling. It came to mean 'round ball,' 'pellet,' or 'pill.'