アスピリン
あすぴりん
noun
aspirin
1.
aspirin; acetylsalicylic acid
A common over-the-counter medicine used to relieve pain, reduce fever, and suppress inflammation. Low doses are also prescribed to inhibit blood clotting in patients with cardiovascular disease. The Japanese name is a direct borrowing of the German/English trade name, which became a generic term.
アスピリンを一錠飲んだ。
I took one aspirin.
頭痛がひどいので、アスピリンを飲んで横になった。
My headache was severe, so I took an aspirin and lay down.
医者は心臓病の予防のために毎日少量のアスピリンを服用するよう勧めた。
The doctor recommended taking a small daily dose of aspirin to prevent heart disease.
Originally the trade name of the drug developed by the German company Bayer in 1899; now used generically in Japanese to refer to acetylsalicylic acid (アセチルサリチル{酸|あせちるさりちるさん}) tablets.
USAGE:
- Most commonly used with 飲む ('to take [medicine]') or 服用する ('to take [a drug], more formal medical register').
- In casual speech, aspirin, ibuprofen, and similar pills may all be lumped together as 頭痛薬 ('headache medicine') or 痛み止め ('painkiller'). アスピリン specifies this one drug.
- Aspirin is contraindicated for children with viral illness (Reye's syndrome risk); in Japanese package inserts this warning appears as a standard precaution.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- アスピリンを飲む: to take aspirin
- アスピリンを服用する: to take aspirin (formal/medical)
- アスピリン一錠: one aspirin tablet
- 低用量アスピリン: low-dose aspirin
- アスピリン療法: aspirin therapy
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 鎮痛剤: painkiller; analgesic — the general category; アスピリン is one specific example.
- 解熱剤: fever reducer — another functional category that aspirin falls under.
- 頭痛薬: headache medicine — everyday term covering aspirin, ibuprofen, and similar drugs.
- イブプロフェン: ibuprofen — a different NSAID with a similar purpose, generally considered gentler on the stomach.