What is the Kanji for "Medicine"?

If you are wondering what is the Japanese Kanji for "Medicine", you've come to the right place!

The Japanese Kanji for "Medicine" is "薬".

This kanji has 2 readings:

Its kunyomi reading is "Kusuri".

Its onyomi reading is "Yaku".

kunyomi readings are based on the pronunciation of native Japanese words, and onyomi readings are based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character.

If you visually breakdown this kanji, you can see is made up of 2 parts:

The radical "艹" means "Grass" . And The kanji "楽" means "Music" and "Pleasure" and can be read as "Gaku", "Raku", and "Tano".

Now, let's make sure you understand this kanji the other way around too.

What does the kanji "薬" mean in japanese?

"薬" means "Medicine".

Japanese School Students learn this kanji in Third Grade, while foreigners may learn this kanji in preparation for the JLPT N3 exam.

Here are some words that use this kanji:

薬: "Medicine". The Japanese noun '薬 (くすり)' means 'medicine'. This word refers to any substance used for the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease. It can be used to describe both prescription and over-the-counter medications. For example: I need to take my medicine - (薬を飲まなければなりません). The doctor prescribed some medicine for me - (医者が私に薬を処方しました).

風邪薬: "Cold medicine". The Japanese noun '風邪薬 (かぜぐすり)' refers to medication or drugs used to treat the common cold. This can include things like decongestants, cough suppressants, and fever reducers. These are usually over-the-counter medications that help alleviate the symptoms of a cold. For example: I bought some cold medicine to help with my cold - (風邪薬を買いました。風邪を治療するためです)

薬指: "Ring finger". The Japanese noun '薬指 (くすりゆび)' refers to the 'ring finger', which is the fourth finger from the thumb on the hand. This finger is commonly used to wear rings, hence the name 'ring finger'. The term '薬指' literally translates to 'medicine finger', as this finger was historically believed to be connected to the body's meridian system. Example sentences: Please put the ring on your ring finger - (指輪を薬指に付けてください). Her ring finger is smaller than mine - (彼女の薬指は私の薬指より小さい).

薬品: "Medicine". The noun '薬品 (やくひん)' refers to pharmaceutical products, drugs, or medicinal substances. It is a general term that encompasses various types of medications, both over-the-counter and prescription. '薬品' is often used in contexts related to the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare, and pharmacology. For example: The pharmacy has a wide selection of medicines - (薬局には様々な薬品がある). This medicine is an important pharmaceutical product - (この薬品は重要な医薬品である).

薬局: "Pharmacy". The Japanese noun '薬局 (やっきょく)' refers to a place where pharmaceutical drugs, medicines, and other related products are sold and dispensed, typically by licensed pharmacists. Pharmacies in Japan play an important role in providing medical care and advice to the general public. For example: I went to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription - (処方箋を受け取りに薬局に行った). The pharmacy is located on the corner - (薬局は角にあります).

目薬: "Eye drops". The Japanese noun '目薬 (めぐすり)' refers to eye drops, which are a type of liquid medication applied to the eyes to treat various conditions such as eye irritation, infection, or dryness. They are commonly used to soothe and lubricate the eyes. For example: I need to use eye drops for my dry eyes - (乾燥した目に目薬を使わなければなりません).

To make really sure you learn this Kanji, I've prepared an interactive lesson for you. You are going to learn the readings and meanings of this kanji.

But first, you need to know a little bit about Hiragana and Katakana.

Hiragana and katakana are japanese syllabaries, this means that each character represents a syllable.

This are the characters you need to know for this lesson:

The hiragana "や" is read as "ya". The hiragana "く" is read as "ku". The hiragana "す" is read as "su". And The hiragana "り" is read as "ri".

Heres a quick tutorial on how to use it. You'll be asked three type of questions: meaning, reading, and writing.

For meanings questions all you have to do is type the english meaning. If there is more than one meaning, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Reading questions you have to type the reading in romaji (roman letters, our normal alphabet) and it'll be automatically converted to hiragana if necessary. If there is more than one reading, you have to include them all in your answer separating them by commas (,).

For Writing questions some options will appear and all you have to do is select the correct ones.