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N5Lesson notes · Oct 10, 2026

Medicine in Japanese: how do you say 薬くすり (kusuri) and use it with the right verb?

Medicine in Japanese is 薬くすり (kusuri), and the word you pair it with matters: you 飲のむ (drink) pills and powders, 塗ぬる (spread) ointment, and さす (drop in) eye drops.

Most learners know 薬くすり within the first month, but the verbs around it cause trouble, and so does a second word, 医学いがく (igaku), which also translates as "medicine" in English but means something quite different. This article covers the word, the verbs, the shop vocabulary you need in a pharmacy, and the way 薬くすり shows up in anime. It is about language only: it explains how to say things, not what to take.

The basics

How do you say "medicine" in Japanese, and how do you write it in hiragana?

薬くすり is read くすり (kusuri). In hiragana it is くすり, and you will see that form in children's books and on some packaging. In normal writing, though, it is the kanji 薬くすり, so it is worth learning the shape. When you want to sound polite or gentle, you add the prefix お: お薬くすり (okusuri). Nurses, pharmacists and doctors say お薬くすり to patients, and parents say it to children.

薬くすりはありますか。 — Do you have any medicine? (polite, asking in a shop) お薬くすりは食後しょくごに飲のんでください。 — Please take your medicine after the meal. (polite, how staff would say it to a patient)

For you as a learner, 薬くすり is the safe default. Use お薬くすり when someone else is the one being cared for, or when you are speaking to staff in a very polite way.

Which verb goes with 薬くすり: 飲のむ, 塗ぬる or さす?

It depends on how the medicine goes into or onto the body, not on the word 薬くすり itself. English says "take medicine" for almost everything. Japanese splits it up.

薬くすりを飲のみます。 — I take medicine. (polite, literally "drink"; works for pills, powder and syrup) 薬くすりを塗ぬります。 — I put on ointment. (polite, spread on the skin) 目薬めぐすりをさします。 — I put in eye drops. (polite, さす is the verb for dropping liquid in)

The key surprise is that 飲のむ covers pills too. A tablet is not drunk in the English sense, but Japanese still says 飲のむ, because you swallow it with water. If you want to see the verb in all its uses, how to say drink in Japanese walks through them.

What are the words for different kinds of medicine?

Add a word before 薬くすり and it changes into a compound, and the first sound of 薬くすり softens to ぐすり. This is a regular sound change (rendaku), so くすり becomes ぐすり in the middle of a word.

Word Reading Meaning
風邪薬かぜぐすり かぜぐすり cold medicine
痛み止いたみどめ いたみどめ painkiller
胃薬いぐすり いぐすり stomach medicine
目薬めぐすり めぐすり eye drops
塗ぬり薬くすり ぬりぐすり ointment, something you spread on
飲のみ薬くすり のみぐすり medicine you swallow
粉薬こなぐすり こなぐすり powdered medicine
錠剤じょうざい じょうざい tablet, pill

Notice that 痛み止いたみどめ does not follow the pattern. It means "pain stopper": 痛いたみ (pain) plus 止とめ (stopping). Nothing in it is read ぐすり, so you simply have to learn it as its own word.

Beyond the basics

What do you say at a pharmacy?

The standard word is 薬局やっきょく (やっきょく, yakkyoku), and the casual word is 薬屋くすりや (くすりや, kusuriya). 薬局やっきょく is the official-sounding one on signs and in conversation about where to go. 薬屋くすりや is a plain "medicine shop", and you will hear it from friends. A large chain shop that also sells snacks and cosmetics is usually called a ドラッグストア (doraggu sutoa), written in katakana.

Here are the sentences a traveler is most likely to need. They are plain language patterns, so you can swap in any word from the table above.

頭痛ずつうの薬くすりはありますか。 — Do you have medicine for a headache? (polite, asking staff) 風邪薬かぜぐすりを探さがしています。 — I'm looking for cold medicine. (polite, browsing) この薬くすりは一日いちにち何回なんかいですか。 — How many times a day is this medicine? (polite, asking about the label) この薬くすりはどこにありますか。 — Where is this medicine? (polite, asking where a shelf is)

The pattern 〜の薬くすり (medicine for ...) is the one to remember: put the problem before の, then 薬くすり. If you are not sure how to name the problem, how to say sick in Japanese gives you the words for feeling unwell.

How do you read the label, and how do doctors talk about it?

Two phrases appear on almost every box: 一日いちにち 〜回かい (times per day) and 食後しょくご (after meals). The label is the place where "how many times a day" turns up in writing, which is why 一日いちにち何回なんかいですか is such a useful question: you are asking the exact thing the label will answer.

一日いちにち三回さんかい、食後しょくごに飲のみます。 — You take it three times a day, after meals. (polite, how a label or staff might phrase it)

At a clinic, the doctor does not say 薬くすりをあげます. The verb is 出だす (to put out, to issue): 薬くすりを出だしておきますね means "I'll prescribe some medicine." Meeting these words in the right setting is easier if you know where the doctor and the hospital fit in the picture; see doctor in Japanese and hospital in Japanese for those.

薬くすりを出だしておきますね。 — I'll write you a prescription / give you some medicine. (polite, a doctor to a patient)

What is the difference between 薬くすり and 医学いがく or 医療いりょう?

薬くすり is the thing you take. 医学いがく (いがく) is the science of medicine, and 医療いりょう (いりょう) is medical care as a system. English uses one word, "medicine", for all three, and that is why dictionaries confuse people.

兄あには医学いがくを勉強べんきょうしています。 — My older brother is studying medicine. (polite, 医学いがく = the field of study) 日本にほんの医療いりょうはとても進すすんでいます。 — Medical care in Japan is very advanced. (polite, 医療いりょう = the care system) この薬くすりはよく効ききます。 — This medicine works well. (polite, 薬くすり = the substance, 効きく = to take effect)

If you tell someone 医学いがくを飲のみます, you have made a joke, not a sentence. Think of it this way: 薬くすり is something you hold in your hand, 医学いがく is a subject at university, and 医療いりょう is a service.

Why does 薬くすり look like 楽らく, and what about 薬指くすりゆび?

The kanji 薬くすり contains 楽らく (raku, easy or fun) in its lower part, under the grass radical 艹 A common way to remember it is "a plant (艹 that makes things easier (楽らく)." This is a memory trick, not the historical reason the character was built, so use it for recall and nothing more. The trap for learners is that the two characters look alike, so check the top of the character: only 薬くすり has the grass on top.

There is also a small curiosity about the ring finger. It is called 薬指くすりゆび (くすりゆび, kusuriyubi), literally "medicine finger", and every learner of Japanese hears this and asks why. The word is old and the exact origin is not settled, so treat it as a fun fact rather than a rule.

How does 薬くすり sound in anime and games?

In fantasy anime you hear 薬草やくそう (やくそう, herb) and ポーション, and a healing item is called 回復かいふく薬くすり (かいふくやく). 薬草やくそう is literally "medicine plant", and in role-playing games it is the first healing item. ポーション is the English word "potion" in katakana, and 回復かいふく薬くすり is "recovery medicine" in kanji. The same fantasy world often uses all three.

薬草やくそうを拾ひろった! — I picked up a medicinal herb! (casual, a game or fantasy scene) 回復かいふく薬くすりを飲のめ! — Drink the recovery potion! (casual, a rough command in battle)

Notice that even in a fantasy story, the verb is 飲のむ. A character drinks a potion for the same reason you swallow a tablet: it goes in through the mouth.

One more line you will meet in dialogue is the proverb 良薬りょうやくは口くちに苦くるし, "good medicine is bitter to the mouth", which people use to say that useful advice can be unpleasant to hear. It is a set phrase, not an everyday sentence.

Common mistakes

  • Saying 薬くすりを食たべる. Learners think of a tablet as food. The verb is 飲のむ, even for pills and capsules.
  • Saying 目薬めぐすりを飲のむ. Eye drops are 目薬めぐすりをさす, because the liquid goes in the eye. 飲のむ would mean you swallowed it.
  • Using 飲のむ for ointment. Ointment is 塗ぬり薬くすり and the verb is 塗ぬる (to spread).
  • Mixing up 薬くすり and 楽らく. The two kanji look alike, but 楽らく is read たの (as in たのしい) or らく. Only 薬くすり has the grass radical at the top.
  • Using 医学いがく when you mean the tablet. 医学いがく is a field of study. If you want to say "this medicine", you need 薬くすり.
  • Reading 風邪薬かぜぐすり as かぜくすり. Inside a compound the reading softens to ぐすり: かぜぐすり.

Practice

Build each answer before opening it. Questions 4 and 5 are a pair — the same word 薬くすり, two different verbs.

1. How do you read 薬くすり in hiragana?

Show answer

くすり — the polite form adds お: おくすり.

2. Say "I take medicine" (a pill) using the correct verb.

Show answer

薬くすりを飲のみます — Japanese uses 飲のむ (drink) for anything swallowed, including tablets and powder.

3. What is wrong with 薬くすりを食たべます?

Show answer

The verb. 食たべる is for food. Medicine you swallow is 飲のむ, so the sentence should be 薬くすりを飲のみます.

4. Say "I put on ointment" using the correct verb.

Show answer

薬くすりを塗ぬります — 塗ぬる means to spread on a surface. This is the pair to question 5.

5. Say "I put in eye drops."

Show answer

目薬めぐすりをさします — さす is used for dropping liquid into the eye. 4 and 5 both use 薬くすり, but the verb changes with how it is applied.

6. How do you read 風邪薬かぜぐすり?

Show answer

かぜぐすり — inside a compound, くすり softens to ぐすり. This sound change is called rendaku.

7. Ask a pharmacy clerk, "Do you have medicine for a headache?"

Show answer

頭痛ずつうの薬くすりはありますか — put the problem before の, then 薬くすり and はありますか.

8. What question asks how many times a day to take a medicine?

Show answer

この薬くすりは一日いちにち何回なんかいですか — it asks exactly what the label says: 一日いちにち (per day) plus 何回なんかい (how many times).

9. A friend says 兄あには医学いがくを勉強べんきょうしています. Is the brother studying a tablet?

Show answer

No. 医学いがく is the field of study. The thing you take is 薬くすり, so the two words are not interchangeable even though English uses "medicine" for both.

10. In a fantasy game, what is the healing item called 回復かいふく薬くすり in English?

Show answer

A recovery potion. 回復かいふく is recovery and 薬くすり is medicine, and the character drinks it with 飲のむ just like a tablet.

In a 30-minute trial lesson, role-play a pharmacy visit, using 飲のむ, 塗ぬる and さす with the right kind of medicine.

FAQ

Is 薬くすり the same as お薬くすり? They are the same word. お薬くすり is the polite, gentle form that nurses, pharmacists and parents use. When you talk about your own medicine in a casual way, 薬くすり is fine.

Why is the verb 飲のむ even for a tablet? Japanese groups the action by how it goes in: swallowed things take 飲のむ, even a solid pill, because you swallow it with water. English "take" hides this, but Japanese does not.

Can I say 薬くすりを使つかう? Yes. 使つかう (to use) is a general verb and is natural for anything applied or used, such as 薬くすりを使つかう for a spray or ointment. For pills, 飲のむ is the common choice.

What is the difference between 薬局やっきょく and ドラッグストア? 薬局やっきょく is the standard word for a pharmacy and sounds more official. ドラッグストア is the katakana word for a larger chain shop that sells many goods besides medicine. In daily talk, people use whichever matches the shop they are standing in front of.

Is ポーション a Japanese word? It is the English word "potion" written in katakana. It is common in games and fantasy anime, where you will also hear 回復かいふく薬くすり for the same kind of healing item.

Does this article tell me which medicine to take? No. It only explains the words and sentences. For real health questions, ask a pharmacist or a doctor.

Vocabulary from this article

Tap the block to select all of it, then copy. In Anki: File → Import, note type Basic, separator Tab — the first column becomes the front, the second the back.

薬	くすり — medicine
お薬	おくすり — medicine (polite)
飲む	のむ — to drink, to take (medicine)
塗る	ぬる — to spread, to apply
さす	さす — to drop in (eye drops)
薬局	やっきょく — pharmacy
薬屋	くすりや — medicine shop
ドラッグストア	どらっぐすとあ — drugstore
風邪薬	かぜぐすり — cold medicine
痛み止め	いたみどめ — painkiller
胃薬	いぐすり — stomach medicine
目薬	めぐすり — eye drops
塗り薬	ぬりぐすり — ointment
粉薬	こなぐすり — powdered medicine
錠剤	じょうざい — tablet, pill
食後	しょくご — after a meal
医学	いがく — medicine (the field of study)
医療	いりょう — medical care
効く	きく — to take effect, to work
薬指	くすりゆび — ring finger
薬草	やくそう — medicinal herb
回復薬	かいふくやく — recovery potion

I'm Yuuki, a Japanese teacher based in Tokyo. I've taught on italki as a Top 1% teacher and watched over 1,500 anime, so most of the example sentences on this blog come from lines I've actually heard in class and on screen — and "do you have medicine for this?" is one of the most useful sentences to have ready before a trip. For practice with feedback, Book a trial lesson · $13, or work through Japanese practice exercises first.

Sources: the author's own lessons and standard reference grammars.

More drills like the ones above, plus a timed JLPT-style mock test: Practice · N5 · Read something at this level: JLPT N5 stories with audio

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