剂 (jì) · dose (of medicine)

Meanings

1 dose (of medicine)
2 preparation; agent (chemical)
3 measure word for doses of medicine or vaccine

Characters

剂

jì

dose; preparation; agent

Examples

HSK 2

这个药每次吃一剂。

Zhège yào měicì chī yí jì.

Take one dose of this medicine each time.

HSK 6

消毒剂可以杀灭细菌。

Xiāodújì kěyǐ shāmiè xìjūn.

Disinfectant can kill bacteria.

Tips

usage

剂 appears as a suffix in many compound words: 药剂 (yàojì, 'pharmaceutical'), 清洁剂 (qīngjiéjì, 'cleanser'), 杀虫剂 (shāchóngjì, 'insecticide'), 调味剂 (tiáowèijì, 'seasoning/flavoring agent'). Once you know this suffix, you can decode many chemistry and medicine terms.

Components

radical

刂 dāo

knife (radical form of 刀)

Right indexing radical 刂, the side form of 刀 (knife). The original action: cutting and trimming herbs to equal portions for a prescription, hence 'dose, preparation'. Same knife radical groups cutting actions: 切 (cut), 划 (divide), 别 (separate).

phonetic

齐 qí

even; uniform; in order

Left side 齐 supplies the sound (qí → jì, initial drift but related affricate) and a tight semantic echo: 齐 means 'evenly arranged, in order' - exactly what a pharmacist does when balancing ingredients. So 剂 reads as 'evening things out with a knife'. Simplified from 齊.