dài fu
doctor
我需要去看大夫。
wǒ xūyào qù kàn dàifu.
I need to see a doctor.
大夫说我得了感冒。
dàifu shuō wǒ déle gǎnmào.
The doctor said I have a cold.
大夫给我开了药。
dàifu gěi wǒ kāi le yào.
The doctor prescribed me some medicine.
庸医 (yōng yī)
quack
赤脚医生 (chì jiǎo yī shēng)
barefoot doctor
Track your progress, master characters, and achieve your Chinese language goals.
Get Started Free
The Chinese character 大夫 (dàifu) is composed of two parts: 大 (dà), meaning "big" or "great", and 夫 (fū), meaning "man" or "husband". The original meaning of 大夫 was "a great man", and it was used as a title for high-ranking officials in ancient China. Over time, the meaning of 大夫 gradually changed, and it came to be used as a general term for doctors and physicians.The earliest known use of 大夫 in the sense of "doctor" dates back to the Warring States period (475-221 BC). In the medical text Huangdi Neijing, 大夫 is used to refer to a person who is skilled in the art of medicine. By the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), 大夫 had become the standard term for doctors in China.The term 大夫 is still used in Chinese today to refer to doctors and physicians. It is also used as a title for certain government officials, such as the Minister of Health.
