ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

medicine / doctor

7 strokes · 匚 (box) + 矢 (arrow) — extracting the arrow: healing · HSK 1

Where 医 comes from

医 (traditional 醫) shows an arrow 矢 in an open box 匚 — the surgeon's work of removing arrowheads, the oldest emergency medicine. The traditional form added a hand with a lance and a wine-jar of antiseptic; the simplified form kept the arrow being boxed away.

医 in Chinese culture

医 heals the vocabulary: 医生 (doctor — 'medicine-life person', with 生), 医院 (hospital), 中医 (traditional Chinese medicine) versus 西医 (Western medicine). China runs both systems side by side — herbs and acupuncture down the hall from MRI machines. The saying 医者仁心 ('healers have benevolent hearts') is the profession's Confucian oath.

Example

医生 yīshēng — doctor

我爸爸是医生。
Wǒ bàba shì yīshēng.
My dad is a doctor.

How to remember it

An arrow 矢 pulled out and boxed 匚 — MEDICINE.

中医 (TCM) and 西医 (Western medicine) coexist in Chinese hospitals — patients often see both for one illness.

Same sound, different tones

1st yī
medicine
2nd yí
to move
亿
4th yì
hundred million

Words unlocked by 医

医生 yīshēng
doctor
医院 yīyuàn
hospital
中医 zhōngyī
traditional Chinese medicine
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