Anyeonghaseyo! (안녕하세요! – Hello!) Like a rollercoaster ride, our lives sporadically make surprising turns and present dramatic experiences. When my loved one had to be hospitalized recently, my family members suggested a blog post including hospital related vocabulary in Korean. All of us know it is better to be prepared and foresee the unexpected. This series of posts will be useful to you when you need to visit a doctor at the hospital or just simply to understand the medical scenes from your favorite K-dramas.

If you need to learn basic body parts and learn how to explain your general aches and pains in Korean, this post “Feeling Sick of Hurt???” will be helpful to you.

Photo by KLM

Most of us will make a trip to a hospital at least once in our lives. My recent visit to a hospital was not for myself. However, this moment of turbulence made me realize once again that knowledge is power while accessing the situation and making decision after decision. Thankfully, not only my mere interests in medical jargons but my occasional binge watching of medical dramas also helped me to follow through this difficult recent event. Of course, most of all, supports and positive thoughts from my family members and friends helped me to stay strong when I felt vulnerable and helpless.

The following is a list of Korean vocabulary regarding hospital staff in and around the building. These can be useful to you when you make visit to a hospital or to simply enhance your understanding of the hospital scenes from the K-dramas or movies. For the Romanization of the Korean language, please follow this link.

1. byeong-won (병원 – hospital)
2. eui-sa (의사 – doctor)

* Eui-sa Sun-sang-nim (의사 선생님 – doctor): when Korean people address a doctor, you will frequently hear this extra word sun-sang-nim (선생님) ,means a teacher in Korean, after eui-sa (의사 – doctor).

3. gan-ho-sa (간호사 – nurse)
4. hawan-ja (환자 – patient)
5. an-na (안내 – Information)
6. jeop-su (접수 – registration)
7. gu-geup-cha (구급차 – ambulance )
8. eung-geup-sil (응급실 –emergency room)
9. jin-chal (진찰 – examination)
10. jin-dan (진단 – diagnosis)
11. jeung-sang (증상 – symptom)
12. che-on (체온 – body temperature)
13. hyeol-ak-hyeong (혈액형 – blood type)
14. ju-sa (주사 – shot)
15. su-sul (수술 – operation)

감사합니다! (Thank you!)