炮制

炮製

páozhì

verb #35,570

Meanings

1 to concoct; to fabricate; to cook up
2 to produce; to invent (often pejoratively, of fake or hastily-made things)
3 to process medicinal herbs (in traditional Chinese medicine)

Characters

to roast (in this reading; pào = cannon)

to make; to process

Examples

他炮制了一份假报告。

Tā páozhì le yī fèn jiǎ bàogào.

He cooked up a fake report.

中药需要经过炮制才能入药。

Zhōngyào xūyào jīngguò páozhì cái néng rùyào.

Traditional Chinese medicinal herbs must be processed before they can be used.

如法炮制就能再做一个。

Rúfǎpáozhì jiù néng zài zuò yī gè.

Following the same recipe (lit. 'concoct it the same way') you can make another one.

Tips

history

炮制 originated as a 中药 (Chinese medicine) term: 炮 means 'to roast', 制 'to process' — the prep work of roasting, frying, soaking, or steaming raw herbs to make them safe and effective. The set phrase 如法炮制 ('do it by the same recipe') generalized the meaning to 'fabricate / produce / cook up', often with negative undertones — fake news, plagiarized articles, or knockoff products.

Stroke Order

炮 pào

制 zhì