医院
hospital
yīyuàn
What does 医院 mean?
医院 (yīyuàn) means 'hospital' — a medical institution where people receive treatment, surgery, and care. The compound combines 医 (yī, 'medicine / to heal') with 院 (yuàn, 'institution / large enclosed building'), parallel to other 院-suffixed buildings like 学院 (college), 法院 (court), and 电影院 (cinema). A few cultural and usage notes for English speakers.
First, in Chinese 'going to the hospital' (去医院) covers what English splits into 'going to the hospital' and 'going to the doctor' — Chinese-style medicine is hospital-centric, so even minor visits to see a doctor are 去医院 or 去看医生. Second, hospitals in China are graded 三甲 (sān jiǎ, 'top tier') down to lower-grade clinics; 大医院 (big hospital) signals a high-grade facility. Third, the related word 诊所 (zhěnsuǒ, 'clinic') is smaller and not interchangeable with 医院
Character breakdown
medicine; to heal; doctor
courtyard; institution; large building (耳 'ear/place' radical + 完)
Memory hook: 医 (medicine) + 院 (institution) = the medicine institution = hospital.
Measure word for 医院
Example sentences
我去医院看医生。
Wǒ qù yīyuàn kàn yīshēng.
I'm going to the hospital to see a doctor.
neutral
她在医院工作。
Tā zài yīyuàn gōngzuò.
She works at a hospital.
neutral
医院离我家很近。
Yīyuàn lí wǒ jiā hěn jìn.
The hospital is close to my home.
neutral
请送他去医院。
Qǐng sòng tā qù yīyuàn.
Please take him to the hospital.
polite
Common phrases with 医院
Synonyms
诊所 is a small clinic for outpatient visits — no surgery, no overnight stays. 医院 is the full hospital with departments, surgery, and inpatient care. Don't confuse a 诊所 with a 医院.
Don't confuse 医院 with
医生 is the DOCTOR (the person). 医院 is the HOSPITAL (the place). Same 医 root, different second character: 生 ('life/person') vs 院 ('institution').
学院 (college / academy) shares the 院 suffix but with 学 ('study') instead of 医. Same pattern: [function] + 院 = institution for that function.
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