hospital

noun ohs-pee-TAHL Less Common

Origin: From Latin hospitale (guest house)

Usage Note

Hospital is masculine. The initial h is silent, so it takes el and un. Unlike in English, ir al hospital ('to go to the hospital') always uses the definite article; dropping it sounds unnatural in Spanish. The adjective hospitalario means both 'hospital' (adj.) and 'hospitable'.

Examples

"Lo llevaron al hospital de urgencias."

Natural Translation

They took him to the hospital as an emergency.

Literal Translation

Him they-took to-the hospital of emergencies

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