Meaning of 药店
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- pharmacy; drugstore
How to use 药店
药店 is the everyday word for a pharmacy or drugstore, and you will see it on shop signs all over China. It pairs naturally with verbs like 去 (qù) and 买 (mǎi). Example: 我去药店买药。(Wǒ qù yàodiàn mǎi yào.) I am going to the pharmacy to buy medicine.
药 (yào) means medicine and has the grass radical 艹 on top, a reminder that many old remedies came from plants. 店 (diàn) means shop, so a 药店 is simply a medicine shop.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 药房 (yàofáng) and 药店 as if they are always the same. 药房 often means a pharmacy counter inside a hospital, while 药店 is a standalone shop. Also keep both syllables in the fourth tone: yàodiàn, not yāodiàn.
药店 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.
药 yào · medicine · 9 strokes
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店 diàn · inn · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 药店.
| 商店 | shāngdiàn | store; shop |
| 饭店 | fàndiàn | restaurant; hotel |
| 书店 | shūdiàn | bookstore |
| 酒店 | jiǔdiàn | wine shop; pub (public house) |
| 药片 | yàopiàn | a (medicine) pill or tablet |
| 药水 | yàoshuǐ | medicine in liquid form; bottled medicine |
| 药物 | yàowù | medicaments; pharmaceuticals |
| 中药 | zhōngyào | traditional Chinese medicine |
| 炸药 | zhàyào | explosive; blasting agent; dynamite |
| 药品 | yàopǐn | medicaments; medicine |
| 旅店 | lǚdiàn | inn; small hotel |
| 医药 | yīyào | medical care and medicines; medicine (drug) |
Questions about 药店
What does 药店 mean?
药店 (yàodiàn) means "pharmacy; drugstore" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 药店?
药店 is made of 2 characters: 药 (9 strokes), 店 (8 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 药店 an HSK word?
Yes. 药店 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 药店 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 药店 is written 藥店.
How do I say I want to buy medicine at a Chinese pharmacy?
You can say 我想买药 (wǒ xiǎng mǎi yào), I want to buy medicine. Then name the item, for example 感冒药 (gǎnmào yào), cold medicine, or 药片 (yàopiàn), pills.
Does 店 always mean shop in other words?
Usually yes, as in 商店 (shāngdiàn) store and 书店 (shūdiàn) bookstore. But 饭店 (fàndiàn) and 酒店 (jiǔdiàn) often mean hotel or restaurant, so learn each word as a whole.