Japanese symbol for “medicine”
薬
くすり
Romaji: kusuri
medicine; pharmaceuticals; (legal) drugs; pill
In Japanese, medicine is 薬, read くすり (kusuri).
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Meanings
- n medicine; pharmaceuticals; (legal) drugs; pill; ointment; salve
- n efficacious chemical (gunpowder, pesticide, etc.)
- n (pottery) glaze
- n (illegal) drug; narcotic
- n small bribe
Written forms: 薬. Readings: くすり、クスリ.
Kanji and stroke order
Other Japanese words for “medicine”
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 医学 | いがく igaku | medicine; medical science |
| 薬品 | やくひん yakuhin | medicine; drug |
| 医 | い i | medicine; the healing art; healing |
| 医薬品 | いやくひん iyakuhin | medical and pharmaceutical products; medicinal supplies; drugs |
| 薬剤 | やくざい yakuzai | medicine; drug |
Related words
Words that share a kanji.
| Word | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 麻薬 | まやく mayaku | narcotic; drug; dope |
| 医薬品 | いやくひん iyakuhin | medical and pharmaceutical products; medicinal supplies; drugs |
| 製薬 | せいやく seiyaku | medicine manufacture; drug manufacture |
| 薬品 | やくひん yakuhin | medicine; drug |
| 薬局 | やっきょく yakkyoku | pharmacy; drugstore; chemist's (shop) |
| 火薬 | かやく kayaku | gunpowder; powder |
See also: Chinese symbol for “medicine”.
Data: JMdict (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.