‘吃药’ literally means ‘eat medicine’ and is the standard, everyday expression for ‘to take medicine’ — whether in pill, capsule, liquid, or other oral form. While 吃 (chī) usually means ‘to eat’, in this compound it broadly covers ingestion of medication, not just food-like substances. 药 (yào) means ‘medicine’ or ‘drug’, referring to substances used to treat or prevent illness. Together, they form a common verb phrase used across all age groups and contexts, from casual home conversations to doctor’s instructions.

The phrase is typically used with time words (e.g., 每天吃药), frequency adverbs (e.g., 必须按时吃药), or objects specifying the medicine (e.g., 吃退烧药). It’s neutral in register — appropriate in both informal and formal health-related communication. Unlike more technical terms like 服药 (fú yào), which sounds slightly more clinical or written, 吃药 is the go-to spoken form in daily life when referring to routine medication intake.