中医 meaning in English
traditional Chinese medical science; a doctor trained in Chinese medicine
Meaning of 中医
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- traditional Chinese medical science
- a doctor trained in Chinese medicine
How to use 中医
中医 can mean the field of traditional Chinese medicine or a person who practices it, so context tells you which one. It is often contrasted with 西医 (xīyī), Western medicine. Example: 我想去看中医。(Wǒ xiǎng qù kàn zhōngyī.) I want to go see a Chinese medicine doctor.
中 (zhōng) is short for 中国 (Zhōngguó), China, and 医 (yī) means medicine or doctor, as in 医生 (yīshēng). Put them together and you get Chinese medicine, or the doctor who practices it.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 中 here as "middle" and translate 中医 as "middle doctor", but here it means Chinese, as in 中国. Also keep 医 (yī) in the first tone and do not confuse it with 一 (yī) or 衣 (yī) when writing.
中医 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
中 zhōng · within · 4 strokes
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- 4
医 yī · to cure · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 中医.
| 医生 | yīshēng | doctor; medical practitioner |
| 医院 | yīyuàn | hospital |
| 中国 | Zhōngguó | China |
| 中间 | zhōngjiān | the middle; the inside; in the middle; within; between; among |
| 中午 | zhōngwǔ | noon; midday |
| 中学 | zhōngxué | middle school |
| 中文 | Zhōngwén | Chinese language |
| 中学生 | zhōngxuéshēng | middle-school student; high school student |
| 其中 | qízhōng | among; in |
| 中心 | zhōngxīn | center; heart; core |
| 高中 | gāozhōng | senior high school (abbr. for 高級中學|高级中学[gao1 ji2 zhong1 xue2]) |
| 心中 | xīnzhōng | central point; in one's thoughts |
Questions about 中医
What does 中医 mean?
中医 (zhōngyī) means "traditional Chinese medical science; a doctor trained in Chinese medicine" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 中医?
中医 is made of 2 characters: 中 (4 strokes), 医 (7 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 中医 an HSK word?
Yes. 中医 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 中医 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 中医 is written 中醫.
How do you say "go see a doctor" with 中医?
Use the verb 看 (kàn): 看中医 (kàn zhōngyī) means to see a Chinese medicine doctor. In the same way, 看医生 (kàn yīshēng) means to see a doctor in general.
What is the opposite of 中医?
The usual counterpart is 西医 (xīyī), Western medicine or a doctor trained in it. Many Chinese hospitals have both, and a 中医院 (zhōngyīyuàn) is a hospital of Chinese medicine.