Chinese word

开药

Pronunciation

Pinyinkāi yào

Meaning

  • verbprescribe medicine

Example

医生给我开药了。yī shēng gěi wǒ kāi yào le

The doctor prescribed medicine for me.

Illustration for 开药 (prescribe medicine)

More examples

感冒时，医生常常给病人开药。gǎn mào shí yī shēng cháng cháng gěi bìng rén kāi yào

When patients have a cold, doctors often prescribe medicine for them.

Core concept

A medical professional selects treatment and sets out how the medicine should be used.

Common phrases

  • 医生为我开药yī shēng wèi wǒ kāi yào

    prescribe medicine for me

  • 给孩子开药gěi hái zi kāi yào

    prescribe medicine for a child

Similar words

开处方kāi chǔ fāng: Write a prescription that lists the medicine needed for treatment.
配药pèi yào: Prepare and dispense medicine according to a prescription.
拿药ná yào: Collect prescribed medicine at a pharmacy.

Definition in Chinese

医生根据诊断为病人开药，注明药品名称、剂量和服用注意事项以用于治疗或缓解症状。yī shēng gēn jù zhěn duàn wèi bìng rén kāi yào zhù míng yào pǐn míng chēng jì liàng hé fú yòng zhù yì shì xiàng yǐ yòng yú zhì liáo huò huán jiě zhèng zhuàng

Word origin

开 (kāi, "open or issue") + 药 (yào, "medicine") presents medicine as something issued for a patient's treatment, giving 开 its clinical meaning rather than its physical one.

Usage tips

  • When 了 (le, "completed action marker") follows this verb, it usually marks the clinician's completed act, not the patient's having taken the medicine.

Other meanings

  • dispense medicineverb
  • write a prescriptionverb

Word lists with this word