How do you pronounce 对症下药?

对症下药 is pronounced duì zhèng xià yào in Mandarin Chinese.

What does 对症下药 literally mean?

Literally, 对症下药 means “to face the symptom and administer medicine”. It is used to mean “to suit the medicine to the illness”.

Where does 对症下药 come from?

对症下药 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.

What is the Chinese definition of 对症下药?

针对病症用药。比喻针对事物的问题所在，采取有效的措施。

对症下药 — “To suit the medicine to the illness”

对症下药 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to suit the medicine to the illness”. Metaphorically, to address a problem by applying specific, effective measures tailored to its root cause or specific symptoms; to prescribe the right remedy for the particular case. Literally, “to face the symptom and administer medicine”.

Frequency

对症下药 Pronunciation and Pinyin

对duì
症zhèng
下xià
药yào

对症下药 Character Breakdown

Character	Pinyin	Strokes	Meaning
对	duì	5	to be correct or right
症	zhèng	10	illness, disease, symptom
下	xià	3	below, down, next, to descend
药	yào	9	medicine, drug, chemical

Example Sentence with 对症下药

处理学生学习成绩下降的问题，老师们需要对症下药，找出每个学生学习困难的具体原因。

To address the issue of students' declining academic performance, teachers need to apply targeted solutions, identifying the specific reasons behind each student's learning challenges.

Origin and Story of 对症下药

Hua Tuo was a renowned physician in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He was proficient in internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, and acupuncture. His medical skills were superb, and his diagnoses were accurate, earning him a high status in China's medical history.

When treating patients, Hua Tuo was able to prescribe different remedies according to varying conditions. Once, two officials, Ni Xun and Li Yan, went to Hua Tuo for treatment. Both described the same symptoms: headache and fever. After taking their pulses separately, Hua Tuo prescribed a laxative for Ni Xun and a diaphoretic (sweat-inducing) medicine for Li Yan.

Seeing the prescriptions, both men were very puzzled and asked, "Our symptoms are the same, and our conditions appear identical, so why are the medicines different?" Hua Tuo explained, "What is similar between you two is merely the superficial manifestation of the illness. Ni Xun's condition was caused by internal food stagnation, while Li Yan's illness was brought on by exposure to cold and wind. Since the root causes of your illnesses differ, I naturally had to 'suit the medicine to the illness' ( ) and treat you with different medications."

After taking the medicine, Ni Xun and Li Yan recovered completely in a short time.

Idioms Related to 对症下药

Synonyms of 对症下药

Antonyms of 对症下药

More idioms starting with 对

Questions about 对症下药

What does 对症下药 mean?: 对症下药 (duì zhèng xià yào) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to suit the medicine to the illness”.
How do you pronounce 对症下药?: 对症下药 is pronounced duì zhèng xià yào in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 对症下药 literally mean?: Literally, 对症下药 means “to face the symptom and administer medicine”. It is used to mean “to suit the medicine to the illness”.
Where does 对症下药 come from?: 对症下药 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to the modern era. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 对症下药?: 针对病症用药。比喻针对事物的问题所在，采取有效的措施。

Copy the pinyin for 对症下药 →Choose tone marks or tone numbers and copy the complete four-character reading.Read Chinese vocabulary and idiom guides →Continue with words, phrases, and idioms explained through natural examples.