中药 zhōngyào traditional Chinese medicine
How to remember 中药: 中 middle + 药 medicine = traditional Chinese medicine.
Characters
How it is used
- Refers to the medicine itself - herbs, pills, tonics - as opposed to 中医 (zhōngyī), the practice or practitioner of Chinese medicine.
- Common collocations: 吃中药 (take Chinese medicine), 抓中药 (have herbs prepared at a pharmacy), 中药店.
- Contrasts directly with 西药 (xīyào), Western pharmaceutical medicine - patients often choose between the two.