Chinese word

药材

Pronunciation

Pinyinyào cái

Meaning

  • nounmedicinal herbs

Example

他买了一些药材回家准备煎药。tā mǎi le yì xiē yào cái huí jiā zhǔn bèi jiān yào

He bought some medicinal herbs to take home and boil to make medicine.

Illustration for 药材 (medicinal herbs)

More examples

这些药材需要低温运输以保持活性成分。zhè xiē yào cái xū yào dī wēn yùn shū yǐ bǎo chí huó xìng chéng fèn

These medicinal herbs need to be transported at low temperature to preserve their active ingredients.

Core concept

A remedy's source material, which may be boiled, processed, or made into a medicinal preparation.

Common phrases

  • 保存药材bǎo cún yào cái

    store medicinal herbs

  • 运输药材yùn shū yào cái

    transport medicinal herbs

  • 检测药材jiǎn cè yào cái

    test medicinal herbs

Similar words

药品yào pǐn: A finished medical product with set ingredients that is processed, packaged, and sold for use.
中药zhōng yào: Medicine or a prescribed formula used in traditional Chinese medicine, often taken as a decoction.
药物yào wù: A chemical or biological substance used to prevent or treat illness.
草药cǎo yào: A medicinal plant or plant part, often dried for use as medicine.

Definition in Chinese

作为药用的原料，指用于煎煮、熬制或制剂的植物、动物或矿物等物质，常见于中药店和药方中。zuò wéi yào yòng de yuán liào zhǐ yòng yú jiān zhǔ áo zhì huò zhì jì de zhí wù dòng wù huò kuàng wù děng wù zhì cháng jiàn yú zhōng yào diàn hé yào fāng zhōng

Word origin

药 (yào, "medicine") + 材 (cái, "material") combines purpose with substance to mean material used in preparing medicine.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, this word commonly appears in shopping and health contexts, especially when discussing materials bought for home preparation rather than ready-made medicine.

Opposites

Related words

  • 药材供应商yào cái gōng yìng shāngmedicinal herb suppliernoun

Word lists with this word