The kanji 薬 generally means "medicine," "drug," or "remedy." It encompasses substances used to treat or prevent diseases and illnesses. It implies healing, care, and the restoration of health.

・On-yomi (音読み): ヤク (yaku) ・Kun-yomi (訓読み): くすり (kusuri)

⚫︎薬局 (yakkyoku) Translation: pharmacy; drugstore ⚫︎薬を飲む (kusuri o nomu) Translation: to take medicine ⚫︎副作用 (fukusayou) Translation: side effects (of a medicine)

The kanji 薬 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The right side is 楽 (raku), which originally meant "music" or "enjoyment," but here it acts phonetically, providing the sound "yaku." The left side, 艹 (kusa), is a simplified form of 草 (kusa), meaning "grass" or "herb". Together, the characters represent substances derived from plants used for medicinal purposes, combining the sound component with a semantic indicator. Over time, the meaning broadened to encompass all types of medicine.