藥

Phono-semantic compound:

艸 (풀 초, “grass, plant radical”) — semantic element, indicating relation to herbs and plants.

樂 (악/락, “music, joy”) — phonetic element, lending the sound yak/약.

Originally referred to herbal medicine, later extended to general drugs and medicinal substances.

藥房 (약방) — pharmacy, drugstore

藥草 (약초) — medicinal herbs

中藥 (중약) — traditional Chinese medicine

西藥 (서약) — Western medicine

火藥 (화약) — gunpowder

辛藥 (신약) — pungent medicine

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (中藥), 藥 primarily referred to plant-based remedies (herbs, roots, minerals, animal parts) believed to balance 陰陽 (yin-yang) and the body’s energy flows.

In Korean traditional medicine (한약, 漢藥), the term also broadly covers decoctions, powders, and herbal mixtures prescribed according to classical East Asian medical theory.

With modernization, 藥 came to encompass Western medicine (西藥) such as pills, vaccines, and antibiotics.

The character also extended metaphorically to gunpowder (火藥) and other chemical substances with strong or transformative effects.

In culture, phrases like 良藥苦口 (양약고구, “good medicine tastes bitter”) express the idea that what is beneficial may be unpleasant at first.