Hong Kong Pharmacy Jyutping

Buying medicine in Hong Kong does not always start at a clinic. On the street you find a 藥房, and often a 屈臣氏 or 萬寧 next door. The counter wants the spoken name, not the chemical name on the box.

Each entry has Jyutping playback. This page only trains shopping speech. It is not medical advice, not a dose, not a diagnosis, and not a substitute for a prescription. Symptoms: clinic speech. To annotate your own line, use the Jyutping converter.

必理痛, 白花油, and 保濟丸 are high-frequency counter names. Use the counter form, not the generic from elsewhere.

Pairing table

Formal writing still uses 處方. Speech more often says 藥單. 藥房 is the shop type. 屈臣氏 and 萬寧 are chain names. 成藥 is what you can ask for on the shelf; 配藥 needs a 藥單.

Where to buy

1. 藥房 (joek6 fong4)

Meaning: A licensed shop that sells controlled medicines, usually with a pharmacist on duty. words.hk reads joek6 fong4. Classifier: 間.

People do not say 藥店. Same characters as Mandarin 藥房; follow the Cantonese sounds. Near synonym: 藥行. The words.hk example is buying a box of 必理痛 at a 藥房.

2. 屈臣氏 (wat1 san4 si6), 萬寧 (maan6 ning4)

Meaning: Common personal-care chains in Hong Kong that also sell OTC medicine and daily goods.

氏 is si6 in citation form. Shop names often change it to si2, like the 士 in 巴士.

屈臣氏 and 萬寧 are not a Mandarin calque of 藥店. Some branches have a pharmacy counter; whether they can 配藥 depends on the shop. Daily goods, OTC items, and masks are often asked for here.

3. 藥劑師 (joek6 zai1 si1)

Meaning: The professional who checks the 藥單 and explains how to use the medicine. words.hk reads joek6 zai1 si1. Classifier: 個.

Do not read the three characters with Mandarin sounds. Questions about use or whether you need a prescription go to the pharmacist.

Names at the OTC counter

4. 傷風藥 (soeng1 fung1 joek6)

Meaning: A cover term at the counter for cold-type OTC packs. words.hk reads 傷風 soeng1 fung1.

People do not just import 感冒藥. Hong Kong also says 感冒; boxes often print 傷風感冒. Symptom words: clinic speech.

5. 止痛藥 (zi2 tung3 joek6), 必理痛 (bit1 lei5 tung3)

Meaning: 止痛藥 is the class; 必理痛 is a very common Hong Kong spoken brand name. words.hk lists the generic as paracetamol (撲熱息痛). words.hk reads 必理痛 bit1 lei5 tung3.

Do not take 對乙酰氨基酚 or Tylenol to the counter as the default. People understand the generic. Speech still high-frequency 必理痛. Classifier: often 盒.

6. 咳藥水 (kat1 joek6 seoi2)

Meaning: Liquid medicine you drink. The words.hk 藥水 entry lists 咳藥水 as a collocation. 藥水 joek6 seoi2. Classifiers: 樽, 支.

Not 止咳糖漿. 咳 is an entering tone, kat1. 藥水 is mainly swallowed; some is for the skin. Do not call every liquid a syrup.

7. 眼藥水 (ngaan5 joek6 seoi2)

Meaning: Drops for the eyes.

Same characters as Mandarin. 眼 is ngaan5; do not read Mandarin yǎn. The counter says 眼藥水, not 滴眼液 as the spoken default.

8. 藥膏 (joek6 gou1)

Meaning: A thick topical cream. words.hk reads joek6 gou1. Classifier: 支. The verb is 搽, not 塗.

Not 膏藥. 膏藥 gou1 joek6 is a patch. 藥膏 is a tube. Boxes also say 外用; speech names 藥膏 first.

9. 膠布 (gaau1 bou3)

Meaning: An adhesive dressing for a small cut. words.hk reads gaau1 bou3. Classifier: 塊. Verbs: 貼, 黏, 黐.

Not 創口貼, not Band-Aid. 藥水膠布 is a medicated plaster. Speech still says 膠布.

10. 口罩 (hau2 zaau3)

Meaning: A face mask, usually a surgical mask. words.hk reads hau2 zaau3. Classifier: 個.

Same characters as Mandarin. Follow the Cantonese sounds. words.hk has an example of wearing a mask with a cold. Thermometers: clinic speech.

Names in the household cabinet

11. 白花油 (baak6 faa1 jau4)

Meaning: A spoken brand name for bottled medicated oil. words.hk reads baak6 faa1 jau4. Classifiers: 滴, 樽.

Not a one-to-one swap for 風油精. 風油精 is a different name. 活絡油 is another class of oil; ask for it separately. 活絡油 is wut6 lok3 jau4. The 絡 in 經絡 is often lok6.

12. 保濟丸 (bou2 zai3 jyun2)

Meaning: A common Hong Kong Chinese patent-medicine pill; the counter wants this name. Follow the changed tone of 藥丸: bou2 zai3 jyun2.

Do not import Mainland 普濟丸 as the spoken default. Some markets use 普濟丸 as a product name; Hong Kong speech still says 保濟丸.

Words on the box and at the counter

13. 藥丸 (joek6 jyun2), 粒 (nap1)

Meaning: A pill or capsule you swallow. words.hk reads 藥丸 joek6 jyun2. The classifier 粒 is nap1 on words.hk.

藥片 is not the only word. words.hk also files capsules under 藥丸. 粒 has the nasal nap1; lazy speech often uses lap1. 幾多粒 asks how many.

14. 飯前食 (faan6 cin4 sik6), 飯後食 (faan6 hau6 sik6)

Meaning: Spoken timing lines used on packs and by pharmacists. 食藥: clinic speech.

Not 吃藥. Hong Kong speech uses 食. These two lines are label and counter wording.

Shadow these

What these terms train

FAQ

Can I say 藥店?
You may be understood. Hong Kong speakers say 藥房. 屈臣氏 and 萬寧 are shop names, not synonyms of 藥店.

屈臣氏 versus 藥房?
藥房 stresses licensed dispensing and medicines. 屈臣氏 and 萬寧 are personal-care chains that also sell OTC goods. Filling a 藥單 still belongs at a 藥房 with a pharmacist on duty.

Can I say 處方?
Common on paper, packs, and legal text. Speech more often says 藥單. The words.hk 配藥 entry uses 藥單.

Is 必理痛 the only painkiller?
No. It is a high-frequency Hong Kong spoken name. words.hk marks it as a proper name; the generic is paracetamol.

風油精 versus 白花油?
Not the same name. Hong Kong counters are asked for 白花油. 活絡油 is another class.

粒: nap1 or lap1?
words.hk’s classifier is nap1. Lazy speech often uses lap1.

Is this medical advice?
No. It trains speech and Jyutping only. Use, dose, and what can be sold: ask the pharmacist and read the pack.

What next?
Symptoms, 探熱, 病假紙: clinic speech. Or annotate the line you will actually say at the counter with the Jyutping converter.