疗

療
liáo
verb #10,297

Meanings

  1. 1 to treat; to cure
  2. 2 therapy; treatment

Examples

HSK 4
Zhèzhǒng liáofǎ xiàoguǒ hěn hǎo.
This therapy is very effective.
HSK 5
Yīshēng zhèngzài zhìliáo bìngrén.
The doctor is treating the patient.

Tips

usage
治疗 = to treat/cure, 疗法 = therapy, 医疗 = medical treatment. The 疒 radical indicates illness.

Components

radical
疒 nè
sickness (Kangxi #104)
Sickness radical wrapping the upper-left - a person lying on a bed, the cap for everything illness-related. Marks 疗 as belonging to the medical-treatment family (疾 disease, 病 illness, 痛 pain, 愈 healing). The sickness shed sets the scene of someone confined; the bottom phonetic gives the action that resolves it.
phonetic
了 liǎo
to finish; complete
Inside 了 supplies sound and meaning. Sound: liǎo to liáo with a tone shift. Meaning: 了 means 'to finish, to complete' - exactly what a cure does to an illness. The traditional 療 used 尞 phonetic; PRC reform replaced it with the more compact 了, keeping the liáo reading and gaining a fitting 'complete the illness' semantic.

Stroke Order

疗 liáo