📖 Meaning
Literally meaning to prescribe medicine according to the diagnosis of the illness, this idiom is used metaphorically to describe taking effective measures that address the root of a specific problem. It emphasizes analyzing the actual situation and choosing an approach tailored to the particular case rather than applying a one-size-fits-all solution.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the Records of the Three Kingdoms (三国志·魏志·华佗传), during the Three Kingdoms period. Two government clerks, Ni Xun and Li Yan, came to the famous physician Hua Tuo with identical symptoms of headache and fever. Hua Tuo prescribed different treatments — a purgative for Ni Xun and a sweating remedy for Li Yan — explaining that although the symptoms looked the same, Ni Xun's condition was external (外实) while Li Yan's was internal (内实), so different cures were needed. Both recovered by the next morning, demonstrating the principle of treating based on the underlying cause.
💡 Example Usage
老师根据每个学生的弱项对症下药，帮助他们提高成绩。
The teacher prescribed remedies according to each student's weak points, helping them improve their grades.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 对症下药
- Pinyin: duì zhèng xià yào
- Literal Translation: aim at, symptom, administer, medicine
- Category: Method
- Characters: 4