中药(zhōng yào) - Chinese medicine in Mandarin

中药 (zhōngyào) is "Chinese medicine", specifically the herbal remedies of traditional Chinese medicine, 中医 (zhōngyī). 中 (zhōng) here means "Chinese" (short for 中国, Zhōngguó, "China") and 药 (yào) means "medicine, drug".

It is drunk as much as swallowed: many forms of 中药 (zhōngyào) come as a bitter brewed liquid rather than a tablet, which is why 中药很苦 (zhōngyào hěn kǔ), "Chinese medicine is very bitter", is such a common complaint, often followed by advice to drink it quickly.

Its natural counterpart is 西药 (xīyào), "Western medicine", and the two are genuinely both available side by side in Chinese pharmacies: a shop sign reading 中西药 (zhōng xī yào) simply means it stocks both kinds.