医院

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