sik6 joek6食藥食药
Jyutpingsik6 joek6
Yalesihk yeuhk
Definition
To take medicine.
Example
colloquialhealthdaily actions
How it's used
Taking medicine is expressed as eating it in Cantonese, reflecting a cultural tendency to view pills and tablets as a form of food intake. It is used for both Western medicine and traditional Chinese herbal decoctions. When referring to the act of taking medicine, it is almost always paired with the aspect marker 咗 to indicate completion.
Examples
Have you remembered to take your medicine yet?
Related words
Common phrases
after finishing the medicine
take medicine on time
Common mistake
Do not translate take medicine literally as 攞藥, as that specifically refers to the act of collecting or picking up medicine from a pharmacy or clinic counter.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- QuestionsFrom yes or no questions to asking who, what, where, and when. The patterns you need to ask questions naturally in Cantonese.
- ClassifiersCantonese puts a classifier between a number and a noun, and a bare classifier on its own can mean the. Learn the common ones and how to use them.
- ComparisonsHow to say bigger than, the most, the same as, and not as good as. Cantonese uses 過 where Mandarin uses 比, and that catches a lot of learners out.
