Meaning of 医生
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- doctor; medical practitioner
How to use 医生
医生 is the everyday word for a doctor, used both for the job and when talking about seeing one. You often hear it with 看 (kàn), meaning to see a doctor. Example: 我生病了，要去看医生。(Wǒ shēngbìng le, yào qù kàn yīshēng.) I am sick and need to see a doctor.
医 (yī) means medicine or to heal, as in 医院 (yīyuàn) hospital, and 生 (shēng) appears in words for people like 学生 (xuéshēng) student and 先生 (xiānsheng) sir. A 医生 is the medicine person who helps you when you 生病 (shēngbìng) get sick.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 看病医生 or forget 看 entirely. The natural phrase is 看医生 (kàn yīshēng) or 看病 (kàn bìng). Also keep both tones high and level in 医 (yī) and 生 (shēng). 生 is not toneless here, unlike the neutral tone in 先生 (xiānsheng).
医生 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.
医 yī · to cure · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
生 shēng · to grow · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 医生.
| 先生 | xiānsheng | teacher; gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.) |
| 医院 | yīyuàn | hospital |
| 生气 | shēngqì | to get angry; to be furious; vitality; liveliness |
| 学生 | xuéshēng | student; schoolchild |
| 生日 | shēngrì | birthday |
| 生病 | shēngbìng | to fall ill |
| 女生 | nǚshēng | schoolgirl; female student |
| 男生 | nánshēng | schoolboy; male student |
| 大学生 | dàxuéshēng | university student; college student |
| 小学生 | xiǎoxuéshēng | primary school student; schoolchild |
| 中学生 | zhōngxuéshēng | middle-school student; high school student |
| 生活 | shēnghuó | to live; life |
Questions about 医生
What does 医生 mean?
医生 (yīshēng) means "doctor; medical practitioner" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 医生?
医生 is made of 2 characters: 医 (7 strokes), 生 (5 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 医生 an HSK word?
Yes. 医生 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 医生 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 医生 is written 醫生.
How do you address a doctor directly in Chinese?
People usually use the surname plus 医生, such as 王医生 (Wáng yīshēng) for Dr. Wang. In hospitals you will also hear 大夫 (dàifu), which is a more colloquial word for doctor.
Is there a difference between 医生 and 大夫?
Both mean doctor. 医生 is the standard, neutral term used everywhere. 大夫 (dàifu) is more spoken and common in northern China.