剤 means “medicine, preparation”

ざい · zai

Also: dose, drug

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

かる, けずる

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

ザイ, スイ, セイ

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 10 strokes

The story

A knife (刂) cutting things evenly (斉): measuring out equal doses. 剤 is any prepared agent: a 薬剤師 is a pharmacist, a 錠剤 is a tablet, and 洗剤 is the detergent under every sink.

Used in 薬剤師 (yakuzaishi, pharmacist), 錠剤 (jouzai, tablet), and 洗剤 (senzai, detergent)

More from Sickness & Cures

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• 痕 scar
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• 腫 swell
• 痘 pox
• 瘍 ulcer
• 唾 saliva
• 梗 blockage

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Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.