The kanji 薬 generally means "medicine" or "drug." It refers to substances used to treat or prevent diseases, or to alleviate symptoms. It can also broadly refer to substances with medicinal properties, including herbs and remedies.

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

⚫︎薬局 (yakkyoku) Translation: Pharmacy ⚫︎風邪薬 (kaze-gusuri) Translation: Cold medicine ⚫︎副作用 (fukusayō) Translation: Side effect (of a medicine)

The kanji 薬 is a phono-semantic compound (形声文字, keisei moji). The left side is the radical 艹 (kusa), which means "grass" or "herb," and provides the semantic component, indicating that the character relates to plants or herbs. The right side is 樂 (raku/gaku), which originally represented "music" or "joy," but here acts as a phonetic component, giving the kanji its sound. The original meaning of 薬 stemmed from the use of herbs for medicinal purposes, combining the idea of plant-based remedies with the enjoyment of recovery or improved health.