A painkiller is a medicine that reduces pain or takes it away for a while. You take it for a headache, a sore tooth, period pain, or after you hurt yourself. Some kinds are mild and sold in a pharmacy; some are strong and only a doctor can give them.

A painkiller ispainkiller是 a medicine that reduces pain or takes it away for a while一種能減輕疼痛、或讓痛暫時消失的藥。 You take it for a headache, a sore tooth, period pain頭痛、牙痛、經痛的時候你會吃它， or after you hurt yourself或是受傷之後也會吃。 Some kinds are mild and sold in a pharmacy有些種類比較溫和，在藥局就買得到； some are strong and only a doctor can give them有些則比較強，只有醫生才能開。

The everyday English word is painkiller; it names the whole shelf, not one box.

The everyday English word is painkiller日常英文就是用painkiller這個字； it names the whole shelf, not one box它指的是整排架上的藥，不是某一個特定的盒子。

In Taiwan, people often reach for a brand name when they mean a common tablet — 普拿疼 is the one you hear for that white paracetamol pill. Mainland Chinese often says 撲熱息痛 for that same drug; here the household word is the brand.

In Taiwan在台灣， people often reach for a brand name when they mean a common tablet大家講到常見的止痛藥片時，常常會用品牌名稱， 普拿疼 is the one you hear for that white paracetamol pill那顆白色的乙醯胺酚藥片，你最常聽到的名字就是普拿疼。 Mainland Chinese often says 撲熱息痛 for that same drug中國大陸講同一種藥，常說撲熱息痛； here the household word is the brand這裡大家常用的說法則是品牌名。

Though actually, killer here does not mean a bad person. It only means “something that kills the pain.” A painkiller does not always kill the cause of the pain; it turns the hurt down so you can get through the day. It is also not the medicine that puts you to sleep for an operation.

Though actually不過其實， killer here does not mean a bad personkiller在這裡不是指壞人。 It only means它的意思只是 “something that kills the pain.”「能把痛殺掉的東西」； A painkiller does not always kill the cause of the painpainkiller不見得能消滅造成疼痛的原因， it turns the hurt down so you can get through the day它只是把痛感壓下去，讓你可以撐過一天。 It is also not the medicine that puts you to sleep for an operation它也不是開刀時讓你睡著的那種藥（麻醉藥）。