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)

References
  • KangXi: 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, 薬, is a variant form of 藥.)

Japanese

Shinjitai

 薬

Kyūjitai

 藥

Kanji
薬

(grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 藥)

  1. medicine, drug
  2. chemical

Readings

Compounds
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

Noun

薬(くす) • (kusu) 

  1. A medicine or drug.
Usage notes

Only used in compounds.

Derived terms
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 hypothetical verb kusuru “to have a mystical effect”.

Pronunciation

Noun

薬(くすり) • (kusuri) 

  1. A substance with mystical properties, especially one that has an effect on the body, health, or lifespan.
  2. A medicine or drug, a pharmaceutical.
  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
Derived terms

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

From Middle Chinese 藥／药 (yak, “drug, medicine”). Compare modern Cantonese 藥／药 (joek6).

Pronunciation

Noun

薬(やく) • (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
Derived terms

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
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