药品
yàopǐn · HSK 6
drug
💊 yào (medicine) + pǐn (product) = medicine products
The first character 药 means medicine or drug. The second 品 means product or article — three mouths stacked, suggesting items for consumption. Together they form the formal term for pharmaceuticals or chemical reagents.
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.
品 — three 口 (mouth) stacked
品 is an ideogram showing three 口 (mouths or openings) piled together. The repetition of 口 suggests many people, items, or voices, which gave rise to meanings like 'kinds,' 'goods,' 'rank,' and 'to taste/judge.' The triple stacking is a common Chinese device for indicating plurality or variety.