内科
nèi kē · HSK 4
medicine
🏥 内 = inside + 科 = department/branch (of medicine)
内 means inside or internal; 科 means department or field of study. Together 内科 is the internal department — the branch of medicine treating internal organs with medication rather than surgery.
内 — enclosure 冂 + enter 入
内 originally depicted something entering (入) into an enclosed space (冂), giving the core sense of 'inside' or 'within'. The pictographic image of going into a covered area extended naturally to meanings like inner, internal, and inland. It contrasts with 外 ('outside').
科 — grain 禾 + measure 斗
科 combines 禾 (grain) and 斗 (a dipper/measure), originally depicting the act of measuring or grading grain. From this, it extended to mean classification, category, and branch of study. Today it commonly appears in words for science (科学) and academic disciplines.