Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| sala de urgencias | /sala de uɾxenθjas/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /sala de uɾxensjas/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
feminine |
| sala de emergencias | /sala de emeɾxenθjas/ (Spain, from spelling rules) /sala de emeɾxensjas/ (Latin America, from spelling rules) |
feminine |
In medical contexts, sala de urgencias is often used to describe the department handling urgent but non-life-threatening cases. In contrast, sala de emergencias can imply more critical and immediate life-threatening situations.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase sala de urgencias literally means 'room of urgencies'.
Which one should you use?
While sala de urgencias typically refers to the department for urgent cases, sala de emergencias is used when the situation is more critical or life-threatening.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In many parts of Latin America, sala de emergencias is a common way to refer to the emergency room. Additionally, in some Latin American countries, the term guardia may be used to refer to the emergency room.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word urgencias is the plural form of urgencia and is used in the plural when referring to the department.
How do you pronounce it?
/sala de uɾxenθjas/
Did you know?
- In many Spanish-speaking countries, people refer to the emergency room as la guardia, which literally means 'the guard' or 'the watch'.
- The word sala in sala de urgencias shares a common ancestor with the English word 'salon'. Both words evolved from a concept of a large or significant room.
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, you might hear people refer to the emergency room simply as urgencias without using the word 'room' at all. In these contexts, the adjective functions as a noun to identify the entire department.
Examples in context
- Tom terminó en la sala de emergencias.Tom ended up in the emergency room.This sentence shows the use of sala de emergencias to describe where someone ended up.Tatoeba #3016078 by marcelostockle, translation #2956696 by CK
- Repórtelo a la sala de emergencias.Report to the emergency room.This sentence shows the use of sala de emergencias for reporting to a location.Tatoeba #1203170 by cariito, translation #18791 by Swift
- La sala de urgencias está muy llena.The emergency room is very crowded.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are at a hospital reception desk.
- Lucía¿Dónde está la sala de urgencias?Where is the emergency room?
- MateoEstá al final del pasillo, Lucía.It is at the end of the hallway, Lucía.
- LucíaGracias, Mateo, necesito ir rápido.Thanks, Mateo, I need to go quickly.
- MateoDe nada, espero que todo esté bien.You're welcome, I hope everything is okay.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “emergency room” translations and entries sala de emergencias, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries de, sala, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
