药方
yào fāng · HSK 7
prescription
💊📝 药方 = 药 medicine + 方 method/formula = the written formula for medicine
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.
方 — pictograph of a plow or two boats joined side by side
方 originated as a pictograph, traditionally interpreted as a plow handle or two boats lashed together. From the idea of paired boats it extended to mean 'side by side,' then 'square,' 'direction,' and 'region.' It was later borrowed for the abstract sense of 'method' or 'way.'