Meet 病 in 病気 and 病院. The examples connect each word’s reading with a useful context.

The idea

病 has 10 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram. Learn 病気（びょうき） and 病院（びょういん） as complete words: a character’s reading depends on the word.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
病気びょうきMy friend missed school because of illness.
病院びょういんI go to the hospital by bus.
病室びょうしつI opened the window in the hospital room.
看病かんびょうI am caring for my sick mother at home.

Examples

  • 友達ともだちは病気びょうきで学校がっこうを休やすみました。My friend missed school because of illness.
  • 病気びょうきのことを医者いしゃに相談そうだんしました。I consulted a doctor about the illness.
  • 病院びょういんまでバスで行いきます。I go to the hospital by bus.
  • 病室びょうしつの窓まどを開あけました。I opened the window in the hospital room.
  • 病人びょうにんはベッドで休やすんでいます。The sick person is resting in bed.
  • 母ははを家いえで看病かんびょうしています。I am caring for my sick mother at home.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

病気 means illness or being ill; 病院 is a hospital. 病人 means a sick person, not the illness itself. Compare the shapes of 病 and 丙; they are different characters.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 病気 in hiragana.

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    びょうき

    病気 is read びょうき. In context: My friend missed school because of illness.

  2. Write the reading of 病院 in hiragana.

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    びょういん

    病院 is read びょういん. In context: I go to the hospital by bus.

  3. Write the missing kanji: ＿気（びょうき）.

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    病

    病 completes 病気, read びょうき. In context: My friend missed school because of illness.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 病 from memory, read 病気 and 病院 aloud, then make a sentence with one of them.