Meaning of 药物
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- medicaments
- pharmaceuticals
- medication
- medicine
- drug
How to use 药物
药物 is a more formal, written word for medicine or drugs, common in news, medical instructions and on labels. In everyday speech people usually just say 药 (yào). Example: 这种药物不能和酒一起吃。(Zhè zhǒng yàowù bù néng hé jiǔ yìqǐ chī.) This medication should not be taken with alcohol.
药 (yào) has the grass radical 艹 on top, a reminder that early medicines came from plants and herbs. Add 物 (wù), meaning thing, and 药物 is simply "medicine things," just as 食物 (shíwù) is "food things."
Common mistake: Learners often say 吃药物 in casual talk, but people normally say 吃药 (chī yào) for taking medicine and keep 药物 for formal contexts. Also watch the tones: 药物 is two fourth tones, yào wù, not yáo wǔ.
药物 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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物 wù · thing · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 药物.
| 食物 | shíwù | food |
| 动物 | dòngwù | animal |
| 礼物 | lǐwù | gift; present |
| 动物园 | dòngwùyuán | zoo |
| 药片 | yàopiàn | a (medicine) pill or tablet |
| 药店 | yàodiàn | pharmacy; drugstore |
| 药水 | yàoshuǐ | medicine in liquid form; bottled medicine |
| 事物 | shìwù | thing; object |
| 植物 | zhíwù | plant; vegetation |
| 购物 | gòuwù | shopping |
| 人物 | rénwù | person; personage; figure (esp. sb of importance); character (in a play, novel etc) |
| 博物馆 | bówùguǎn | museum |
Questions about 药物
What does 药物 mean?
药物 (yàowù) means "medicaments; pharmaceuticals" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 药物?
药物 is made of 2 characters: 药 (9 strokes), 物 (8 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 药物 an HSK word?
Yes. 药物 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 药物 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 药物 is written 藥物.
Does 药物 mean illegal drugs?
Not usually. 药物 means medicine or pharmaceutical drugs. Illegal drugs are called 毒品 (dúpǐn), though 药物滥用 (yàowù lànyòng) means drug abuse.
What is the difference between 药物 and 药品?
Both are formal. 药品 (yàopǐn) stresses medicine as a product, as in shops, regulation and packaging, while 药物 is broader and common in medical or scientific discussion, such as 药物治疗 (yàowù zhìliáo), drug treatment.