Chinese word dictionary

对症下药

duìzhèng-xiàyào · lit. to prescribe the right medicine for an illness (idiom); fig. to study a problem to find the right way to solve it; to take appropriate steps

Practice word

Word information

Simplified对症下药

Traditional對症下藥

Pinyinduìzhèng-xiàyào

Part of speechGeneral

HSK 3.07-9

HSK 2.0Not listed

Character breakdown

Study each Hanzi separately, then return to the complete word so pronunciation, meaning, and movement stay connected.

对duì

correct, right; facing, opposed

症zhèng

ailment, disease, illness

下xià

below, underneath; inferior; to bring down; next

药yào

drugs, medicine; the leaf of the Dahurian angelica plant

How to learn 对症下药

Listen once without reading, repeat the pinyin with its tones, then write every character in sequence. Finally, recall the complete meaning instead of memorizing each character as an isolated translation.

When the word appears in a sentence, check whether its part of speech and meaning match the definition shown here. Chinese words can change nuance with context.

Related vocabulary

Words with the same characters

Compare how a familiar Hanzi changes meaning inside another word.

对duì

right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to suit; to answer; to reply; to add; to pour in (a fluid); to check; to compare; classifier: couple; pair

对不起duìbuqǐ

I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon; to let (sb) down; to disappoint

下xià

down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency of an action

下雨xiàyǔ

to rain

下班xiàbān

to finish work; to get off work; next service (train, bus etc)

下课xiàkè

to finish class; to get out of class; (fig.) (esp. of a sports coach) to be dismissed; to be fired