The Meaning of nyūin [入院] In Japanese

入院
にゅういん
Romaji: nyūin N5

What does 入院 mean?

Translation and Meaning

hospitalization, admission to hospital

Definition

入院 means being admitted to a hospital for medical care, or the period during which one stays there for treatment.

Type

noun (suru-verb)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • Hospital admission as a formal process of entering a medical facility
  • The on-going state or period of being in hospital, represented by 常用の表現 in Japanese
  • Related terms such as 入院する and 入院費 that describe actions and costs associated with hospitalization

Etymology

nyū from 入 on-reading; in from 院 on-reading; combined to form nyūin, a Sino-Japanese compound.

Origin

Meiji era onward; modernization of healthcare introduced formal hospital care and the term 入院 entered Japanese medical language as hospitals expanded.

Composition

  • 入: enter, to go inside
  • 院: institution, hospital, clinic
  • Combination: enter + institution yields the concept of entering an institution to receive care

Usage

Used in medical contexts to indicate admission to a hospital, in patient records, and in everyday speech as 入院する; common collocations include related forms and costs associated with hospital care.

💡 Tips

Mnemonic: imagine a person stepping into a hospital doorway; the first kanji suggests entering, the second depicts a building or institution, so 入院 literally maps to entering an institution for care.

Variations

  • 入院中 nyūin-chū — currently hospitalized
  • 入院する nyūin-suru — to be hospitalized
  • 入院費 nyūin-hi — hospitalization costs
  • 退院 taiin — discharge from hospital

Example Phrases

  • 先日、私の叔父は大病で入院して長く過ごした。
    Senjitsu, watashi no oji wa daibyō de nyūin shite nagaku sugoshita.
    The other day, my uncle was hospitalized for a serious illness and spent a long time.
    Lista:
    • 先日 (senjitsu) – the other day
    • 私の (watashi no) – my
    • 叔父は (oji wa) – uncle
    • 大病で (daibyō de) – due to a serious illness
    • 入院して (nyūin shite) – being hospitalized
    • 長く (nagaku) – long
    • 過ごした (sugoshita) – spent
    Here 「入院」 is a noun meaning hospitalization; it is used with して to form 入院して (being hospitalized) and with で to indicate the reason (大病で).
入院