Key Facts
- Hangul: 응급실 (eunggeupsil)
- Meaning: emergency room; emergency department
- Part of speech: noun
- Origin: Sino-Korean
- Register: neutral; used in everyday speech and news
- Hanja: 應急室 (應 respond + 急 urgent + 室 room)
- Spoken form: [응급씰]
- Level: B1
Emergency Room in Korean: What Does 응급실 Mean?
응급실 is a room that responds to urgent cases, which is exactly what its three hanja say: respond, urgent, room. Staff and patients call the unit 응급실, and a patient who arrives there is an 응급 환자. The same 응급 start gives 응급 처치, first aid. Around it sit 구급차, the ambulance, and 병원, the hospital the room belongs to. Admission to a ward after treatment has its own page, hospitalization.
How Do You Pronounce 응급실?
Say eung-geup-ssil. After the final ㅂ of 급, the ㅅ of 실 is tensed to ss, even though the spelling does not show it. The Revised Romanization writes eunggeupsil because it does not mark tensing caused by a sound change. Before 에 the final ㄹ of 실 links on, giving eunggeupsire as in the first example.
How Do You Use 응급실 in a Sentence?
응급실에 갔어요.
I went to the emergency room.
eunggeupsire gasseoyo. 응급실에 갔어요 says I went to the emergency room. 에 marks the destination and 갔어요 is the past of go.
응급실은 어디예요?
Where is the emergency room?
eunggeupsireun eodiyeyo? 응급실은 어디예요? asks where the emergency room is. 어디예요 is where is it, and the topic marker 은 follows a word ending in a consonant.
친구가 응급실에 실려 갔어요.
My friend was taken to the emergency room.
chinguga eunggeupsire sillyeo gasseoyo. 친구가 응급실에 실려 갔어요 says my friend was taken to the emergency room. 실려 가다 means to be carried off, which suggests the friend could not walk or drive there alone.
Common Word Combinations
| Korean | English |
|---|---|
| 응급실에 가다 | to go to the emergency room |
| 응급실에 실려 가다 | to be taken to the emergency room |
| 응급 환자 | emergency patient |
| 응급 처치 | first aid |
응급실에 가다 is to go to the emergency room, and 응급실에 실려 가다 is to be taken there. 응급 환자 is an emergency patient, and 응급 처치 is first aid. The second phrase uses a passive-like verb, so the speaker is not in control of the trip.
Common Mistake
Wrong: eung-geup-sil, with a plain s sound.
Correct: eung-geup-ssil. After the final ㅂ the ㅅ is tensed, so the last syllable sounds tight and sharp.
The spelling is still 응급실; only the speech changes.
How Does 응급실 Differ from Similar Words?
| Word | Meaning | How it differs from 응급실 |
|---|---|---|
| 구급차 | ambulance | The vehicle that carries patients. 응급실 is where they arrive. |
| 병원 | hospital | The whole building. 응급실 is one unit inside it. |
| 응급 처치 | emergency first aid | The care given on the spot, not the place. |
Finding the Emergency Department
A visitor has reached a hospital and needs directions to the emergency entrance. The exchange is about finding the right place, so the questions are short.
Visitor
응급실이 어디예요?
Eunggeupsiri eodiyeyo?
Where is the emergency room?
Staff member
저쪽 문으로 들어가세요.
Jeojjok muneuro deureogaseyo.
Go in through that door over there.
Visitor
응급실 접수는 어디서 해요?
Eunggeupsil jeopsuneun eodiseo haeyo?
Where do I register for the emergency room?
Staff member
안내 데스크에서 해요.
Annae deseukeueseo haeyo.
At the information desk.
The first question uses 이 to ask where the unit is. The earlier example with 은 is also natural: it makes the emergency department the topic. Neither marker makes the question more urgent. The noun 응급실 tells the listener which part of the hospital you need.
In the third line, 접수 means registration. 에서 asks where an action happens, while 에 in 응급실에 갔어요 marks the destination. This distinction helps you ask about the desk after you have found the entrance. A direction to a desk identifies a location; it does not explain the hospital's assessment or treatment process.
What Will You See on Hospital Signs?
응급실 appears on entrance signs, corridor arrows and hospital maps. A sign may pair Korean with “Emergency” or “ER”. 응급실 입구 means the entrance to the emergency department. 입구 is the part to look for when a building has several doors; the hospital's main entrance and the emergency entrance need not be the same door.
You may also see 응급의료센터, “emergency medical center”. The longer label names a center rather than simply a room. Recognizing the shared 응급 helps you connect the sign with your destination without needing to understand every syllable immediately.
In news or a drama, listen to the verb after 응급실. 응급실에 가다 only says someone goes there. 응급실로 이송되다 means being transported there and sounds more formal, as in a report. The destination marker 로 points toward the unit. Neither expression by itself says what diagnosis the patient received.
Useful Phrases beyond the Headword
응급실에서 진료를 받다 means to receive medical care in the emergency department. 받다 literally means “receive”; 진료 supplies what the patient receives. This is a useful pattern because English often says “see a doctor”, while Korean can describe receiving care.
응급실에 실려 가다, from the examples, focuses on being carried or transported. It often suggests a serious situation, but it does not specify an ambulance. Add 구급차 if the vehicle matters. You can understand a report more accurately by keeping the place, the transport and the care separate.
입원 means admission to a hospital ward. An emergency-department visit and an admission are different events: someone can receive care in 응급실 and then leave, or be admitted afterward. The word 응급실 alone does not tell you which happened.
Related Words for a Hospital Visit
| Korean | Meaning | Useful note |
|---|---|---|
| 접수 | registration | The administrative step named when asking about a desk. |
| 진료 | medical consultation or care | Use it for the care rather than the building. |
| 입원 | hospital admission | A stay after admission, rather than simply visiting the emergency unit. |
| 퇴원 | discharge from hospital | The counterpart to admission. |
The health vocabulary lesson brings together hospital and treatment words. These nouns help you follow what happened after someone reached 응급실, rather than treating every hospital visit as a stay on a ward.
Quick Self-Test
- Which word names the vehicle: 응급실 or 구급차?
- Does 응급실에 갔어요 necessarily mean someone was admitted to a ward?
- In 응급실에서 진료를 받다, what does 에서 mark?
Show answers
- 구급차 is the ambulance; 응급실 is the emergency department.
- No. 입원 names admission; the sentence only says someone went to the emergency department.
- The place where the care is received.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does 응급실 Mean?
It means the emergency room, the urgent-care unit of a hospital.
How Do I Ask Where the Emergency Room Is?
Say 응급실은 어디예요?
Why Does the S Sound Doubled?
After the final ㅂ in 급, the ㅅ becomes tense, so you say eung-geup-ssil.
What Is the Difference between 응급실 and 병원?
병원 is the hospital as a whole. 응급실 is the emergency unit inside it.
Where to Go Next
For related health words, open the health vocabulary list or browse Korean words A to Z. Next, see hospitalization and hospital, and review the set in the vocabulary flashcard decks.