病院

What it means

What does 病院 mean? It means a medical facility where patients receive diagnosis, treatment, and care. In Japanese usage, 病院 refers to a formal healthcare institution staffed by doctors and nurses, offering inpatient and outpatient services.

Main meanings

• Primary meaning: a medical facility where patients receive diagnosis and care.
• Scope includes inpatient and outpatient services, not just a single clinic room.
• Used in formal writing and everyday speech to refer to hospitals.

How to use it

Hospitals are common in Japanese life and language, used in formal and casual contexts. It is typically paired with verbs such as 行く, 診察を受ける, 入院する; 病院へ行く, 病院で診察を受ける; in more formal contexts you may see 病院を受診する. The term is preferred over 医院 in most everyday language and standard documents when referring to a generic hospital.