Korean Hospital Vocabulary: 50 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Hospital Vocabulary at a Glance

Korean hospital vocabulary is mostly Sino-Korean. Of the 50 words, 43 are built from Chinese-derived syllables, such as 병원, 진료 and 처방전, so they are short, regular and easy to recombine once you know the syllables. A few common symptoms are native words, like 열 and 기침. This page is a child of Daily Life.

This page teaches vocabulary and is not medical advice. If you need urgent help in Korea, call 119 for an ambulance or fire service and 112 for the police. The next section says what to learn first.

Which Hospital and Health Words Should You Learn First?

Learn 병원, 약, 약국 and 응급실 first, then the department names for the doctor you may need. Those words let you find help and name the kind of doctor. Symptoms and the visit steps follow.

1. Day one. 건강, 병원, 의사, 약, 약국 and 응급실.
2. Day two. The departments, especially 내과, 치과 and 정형외과.
3. Day three. The symptoms: 열, 기침, 콧물, 두통, 복통 and 감기.
4. Day four. The medicine and prescription words.
5. Day five. The visit steps and the check-up words.

At 8 to 10 words a day, the list takes five to six days plus review. This scene puts eight of the words on one picture.

Word · 8

1. 1

   건강

   Play

   geongang

   health

2. 2

   건강보험

   Play

   geongangboheom

   national health insurance

3. 3

   피부과

   Play

   pibugwa

   dermatology clinic

4. 4

   기침

   Play

   gichim

   cough

5. 5

   통증

   Play

   tongjeung

   pain

6. 6

   연고

   Play

   yeongo

   ointment

7. 7

   진찰

   Play

   jinchal

   medical examination

8. 8

   진단서

   Play

   jindanseo

   medical certificate

Every group follows the order in which you meet the words at a hospital. The first group is the building and the people.

Health and the Hospital

건강 is health, 병원 is a hospital and 의사 is a doctor. A 의원 is a smaller local clinic, and by law a 의원 has fewer beds than a 병원. A 환자 is a patient. 건강보험 is the national health insurance that most residents are covered by.

Korean often drops the words for the person and says the place: 병원에 가요 (go to the hospital) is also how you say you are seeing a doctor. Use 선생님 after 의사 when you speak to one, as in 의사 선생님. The next group names the departments.

Hospital Departments

The names of most hospital departments follow one pattern: a word for the body part or the field, plus 과 (department). 내과 is the internal medicine department, 안과 is the eye department, and 치과 is the teeth department. Learn the pattern and you can read the sign on any clinic.

Example Sentences

Each example is a short polite sentence. Most follow the pattern department + 에 + 가요 (go to) or body part + 이/가 + 아파요 (hurts). Say each sentence aloud and swap the department. Replace 내과 in 내과에 가요 with 안과 and you get 안과에 가요. Pick the department by the problem: eyes go to 안과, skin to 피부과, and a broken bone or a sore joint to 정형외과.

The name on the door matters because Korean clinics are often specialist clinics. A 내과 treats colds and stomach trouble, and a 가정의학과 (family medicine) is another door for the same problems. The next group is what you feel.

How Do You Say Symptoms in Korean?

Symptoms are 증상. The simple way to describe one is symptom + 이/가 + 나요 for things that come out, such as 열이 나요 (I have a fever) and 기침이 나요 (I have a cough). For pain, say the body part and 아파요, as in 머리가 아파요 (my head hurts). The word 두통 means headache, but 머리가 아파요 is what people say aloud.

As with 두통, the word 복통 means stomachache in writing and on signs. In speech people say 배가 아파요. Use the Sino-Korean word on forms and the spoken phrase in conversation. The body parts page has the nouns for where it hurts. The full symptom list is on the Korean Symptoms Vocabulary page.

Medicine

약 is medicine, and 약국 is the pharmacy. After a visit, the doctor gives you a 처방전, which you take to the 약국. Medicine comes in forms: 알약 (tablet), 가루약 (powder), 연고 (ointment). Two common kinds are the 진통제 (painkiller) and the 소화제 (digestive medicine).

You can buy simple medicines such as 소화제 and 진통제 at a 약국 without a 처방전. Prescription medicines need the paper. The word 쓰다 (to be bitter) is a homograph of 쓰다 (to write or to wear), and the example 가루약이 써요 uses the bitter sense. The words for the counter are on the Korean Pharmacy Vocabulary page.

How Do You Say Doctor's Visit in Korean?

A visit has fixed steps, and each has a noun. You do 접수 (register), wait, have the 진료 (consultation), get a 검사 (test) if needed, and receive a 진단 (diagnosis). Then you pay and pick up a 처방전.

1. 접수. Give your name and your insurance details at the desk.
2. 대기. Wait in the waiting area until your name is called.
3. 진료. Meet the doctor, who does the 진찰 (examination).
4. 검사. Have tests, if the doctor asks for them.
5. 수납. Pay at the counter.
6. 처방전. Take the prescription to a 약국.

Note the difference between 진료 and 진찰. 진료 is the whole consultation or treatment, and 진찰 is the examination the doctor performs inside it. 예약 is an appointment, and many clinics take them by phone or app. 입원 is being admitted, 퇴원 is being discharged, and a 진단서 is the certificate you need for work or insurance. See Korean Dentist Vocabulary.

Check-Ups and Emergencies

건강검진 is a health check-up, and Korea runs a national programme that covers many adults. The usual measurements are 혈압 (blood pressure) and 체온 (body temperature). An 엑스레이 is an X-ray.

Details of who qualifies change, so ask the clinic. This page only teaches the words. The next group is the urgent one.

How Do You Say Emergencies in Korean?

An emergency is an 응급 상황, and the place for it is the 응급실 (emergency room). A 구급차 is an ambulance, and you call it on 119. A 수술 is surgery. In an emergency you can say 도와주세요 (please help) and 구급차를 불러 주세요 (please call an ambulance).

To say you are calling, use 119에 전화해요 (I call 119). The Korean Medical Emergencies Vocabulary page has the full emergency list, and the emergency phrases page has the sentences you may need to say. See Korean Mental Health Vocabulary.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Most hospital words follow the spelling, but several undergo sound changes between syllables. The table shows seven cases that learners often miss.

The rules come from the Standard Pronunciation rules (표준 발음법) of the 국립국어원, and the tense 과 follows the pronunciations listed in the Standard Korean Language Dictionary. The audio is generated with text-to-speech and checked by a Korean teacher before publication.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word has a normal clip, and 5 key words also have a slow clip at 0.8 times the speed: 건강, 이비인후과, 처방전, 진료 and 응급실. Nothing plays until you press a button.

Listen to 진료 first. You should hear [질료], with a long, clear ㄹ in the middle.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Hospital and Health Words?

• Using 두통이 있어요 in speech. It is correct but formal, and people usually say 머리가 아파요.
• Reading 진료 as jin-ryo. The spoken form is [질료].
• Confusing 병원 and 의원. A 의원 is a smaller clinic, and both are places where you see a doctor.
• Saying 아파요 without the body part. Name the place first: 배가 아파요, 머리가 아파요, 이가 아파요.
• Mixing up 약 and 약국. 약 is the medicine, and 약국 is the shop where you buy it.

The first mistake sounds stiff but is understood, and the last two cause real confusion at a counter. The next section turns the list into practice.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Drill these words with the vocabulary flashcard decks. A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. Progress in the decks is saved only in your browser.

Try this five-question check, then say the 50 words aloud once more.

For the single-word entry, see hospital in Korean, which gives the meaning, pronunciation and one word in use.

Where to Go Next

After the Korean hospital vocabulary, open Korean Symptoms Vocabulary for the full list of symptoms or Korean Pharmacy Vocabulary for the pharmacy counter. Learners who want a lighter topic can move to Beauty and K-Beauty Vocabulary or Technology and Internet, the other lists in Daily Life.

Pages in This Section

Five pages sit below Health and Medicine. Each one goes deeper into one part of this list.

• Korean Symptoms Vocabulary: 40 words for pains, coughs, fevers, stomach trouble and the sentences for describing them to a doctor.
• Korean Pharmacy Vocabulary: 30 words for the pharmacy counter: medicines, dosage, prescriptions and the instructions on a packet.
• Korean Dentist Vocabulary: teeth, cavities, scaling and implants.
• Korean Mental Health Vocabulary: stress, anxiety, sleep and counselling words.
• Korean Medical Emergencies Vocabulary: 25 words for calling for help, describing an accident and getting to the emergency room.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do You Say Health in Korean?

Health is 건강 (geongang). It is a Sino-Korean word made of 건 (strong) and 강 (healthy), and it appears in 건강보험 (health insurance) and 건강검진 (health check-up). To say you are healthy, use 건강해요. To wish someone good health, say 건강하세요.

How Do You Pronounce 약 (yak)?

약 is said yak, in one syllable. It starts with a plain y glide and the vowel a, and it ends in ㄱ, which is unreleased: the back of the tongue presses against the soft palate and no air comes out. When 약 is followed by 국 it becomes [약꾹] (pharmacy). Press the audio button to compare.

How Many Hospital and Health Words Should I Learn First?

Learn about 20 first: 건강, 병원, 의사, 약, 약국, 응급실, the main departments, and the symptoms 열, 기침, 감기 and 두통. That is two to three days at 8 to 10 words a day. Add the medicine and visit steps afterwards, and review all 50 with the flashcards.

Where Can I Practise Hospital and Health Words with Flashcards?

Use the vocabulary flashcard decks, which list every deck with audio. A deck for these words is planned. Progress stays in your browser. The symptoms and pharmacy pages have second lists that overlap with this one, so review them together for the best result.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea officially adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid that does not mark every sound change, so learn the Hangul and use the audio to hear the real sound.

Is There a Printable Worksheet for Hospital and Health Words?

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, copy the tables above by hand: write the Hangul, cover the English column, and check your answers against the page.