医药
yīyào · HSK 6
medicine
💊 医 (doctor) + 药 (drug) = medicine as a whole
The first character 医 means doctor or medical practice, while 药 means drug or remedy. Together they form the broad concept of medicine — both the science and the substances used to heal.
药 — grass radical 艹 + 约 (yuē, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The grass radical 艹 on top signals a plant or herb, reflecting that early Chinese medicines were largely herbal. The component 约 below provides the sound, hinting at the pronunciation yào. The traditional form is 藥.