Meaning of 药片
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- a (medicine) pill or tablet
Measure word: 片
How to use 药片
药片 is the everyday word for a pill or tablet, and it is often counted with 片 or 粒 (lì). Example: 医生让我每天吃两片药片。(Yīshēng ràng wǒ měitiān chī liǎng piàn yàopiàn.) The doctor told me to take two tablets a day.
药 (yào) means medicine and 片 (piàn) means a thin flat piece, like a slice. A pill is medicine pressed into a small flat piece, so 药片 is a tablet.
Common mistake: Learners often say 喝药片 because 喝药 (hē yào) is common, but you take pills with 吃 (chī), as in 吃药片. Also keep both syllables in the fourth tone: yàopiàn, not yàopiān.
药片 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
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
片 piàn · thin piece · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 药片.
| 照片 | zhàopiàn | photograph |
| 影片 | yǐngpiàn | a copy of a film; film; motion picture; movie |
| 图片 | túpiàn | picture; photograph |
| 药店 | yàodiàn | pharmacy; drugstore |
| 药水 | yàoshuǐ | medicine in liquid form; bottled medicine |
| 药物 | yàowù | medicaments; pharmaceuticals |
| 唱片 | chàngpiàn | gramophone record; LP |
| 名片 | míngpiàn | (business) card |
| 相片 | xiàngpiàn | image; photograph |
| 动画片 | dònghuàpiàn | animated film |
| 片面 | piànmiàn | unilateral; one-sided |
| 中药 | zhōngyào | traditional Chinese medicine |
Questions about 药片
What does 药片 mean?
药片 (yàopiàn) means "a (medicine) pill or tablet" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 药片?
药片 is made of 2 characters: 药 (9 strokes), 片 (4 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 药片 an HSK word?
Yes. 药片 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 药片 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 药片 is written 藥片.
What is the difference between 药片 and 药水?
药片 (yàopiàn) is medicine in solid tablet form, while 药水 (yàoshuǐ) is liquid medicine. Both use 药 for medicine, and the second character tells you the form.
Why does 片 appear in 照片 and 图片 too?
片 describes flat, thin things, so it shows up in words like 照片 (zhàopiàn) photograph and 图片 (túpiàn) picture. In 药片 it points to the flat shape of a tablet.