薬

See also: 藥
薬 U+85AC, 薬
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-85AC
← 薫
[U+85AB] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 薭 →
[U+85AD]

Translingual

Traditional 藥
Shinjitai 薬
Simplified 药

Han character

薬 (Kangxi radical 140, 艸+13, 16 strokes, cangjie input 廿戈人木 (TIOD), composition ⿱艹楽)

Derived characters

  • 𣟿, 𬟥, 𬌖, 𫊚

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: not present, would follow page 1062, character 44
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 32188
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): not present, would follow volume 5, page 3303, character 5
  • Unihan data for U+85AC

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 薬 – see 藥 (“medicine; drug; pharmaceutical; substance used for a particular purpose; etc.”).
(This character is a variant form of 藥).

Japanese

Shinjitai

薬

Kyūjitai

藥

Kanji

薬

(Third grade kyōiku kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 藥)

  1. medicine, drug
  2. chemical

Readings

  • Go-on: やく (yaku, Jōyō)
  • Kan-on: やく (yaku, Jōyō)
  • Kun: くす (kusu, 薬)、くすり (kusuri, 薬, Jōyō)
  • Nanori: み (mi)

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
薬
くす
Grade: 3
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
藥 (kyūjitai)

From Old Japanese. Cognate with the kusu root of adjective 奇し (kusushi, “mystical”),[1] from the way that drugs and medicines would have mystical effects.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [kɯ̟sɨ]

Affix

薬(くす) • (kusu) 

  1. a medicine or drug
Usage notes

Only used in compounds.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
薬
くすり
Grade: 3
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
藥 (kyūjitai)

From Proto-Japonic *kusori. Derivation from kusu above. Appears to be the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or noun form”) of unattested verb kusuru “to have a mystical effect”.

Pronunciation

  • (Kyoto) くす​り [kùsúꜜrì] (Teiki)[2]

Noun

薬(くすり) • (kusuri) 

  1. a medicine or drug, a pharmaceutical
  2. a substance with mystical properties, especially one that has an effect on the body, health, or lifespan
  3. a chemical, generally toxic and used for its effect on living organisms, such as insecticide or herbicide
  4. a substance that has a beneficial effect in improving or maintaining one's health
  5. (figurative) something that has a beneficial effect in correcting one's mistakes
  6. short for 釉薬 (uwagusuri): a glaze or enamel applied to ceramics
  7. gunpowder (from the “mystical substance” sense, and the second character in the word 火薬 (kayaku, “gunpowder”))
  8. (figurative) a small bribe
Usage notes

The medicine sense is probably the most common in modern Japanese.

Derived terms

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
薬
やく
Grade: 3
on'yomi
Alternative spelling
藥 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese 藥 (MC yak). Compare modern Cantonese 藥／药 (joek6).

Pronunciation

  • (Kyoto) や​く [yáꜜkù] (Kōki)[5]

Noun

薬(やく) or 薬(ヤク) • (yaku) 

  1. (slang) a medicine or drug, especially a narcotic or other recreational drug
Usage notes

The slang meaning is generally limited to when the term yaku is used as a standalone noun. In compounds, yaku refers more generally to pharmaceuticals, or sometimes chemicals.

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “くすり 【薬】”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 “やく 【薬】”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[2] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
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