شَفَاخَانَه
šafāxāna
The English word 'hospital' is translated into Persian as شَفَاخَانَه (šafāxāna). Wiktionary also lists بیمارِسْتان (bimârestân) and بیمارْخانِه (bimârxâne).
Meaning: large medical facility (noun)
Ways to say it
| Persian | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| شَفَاخَانَه | šafāxāna |
| بیمارِسْتان | bimârestân |
| بیمارْخانِه | bimârxâne |
| شَفاخانِه | šafâxâne |
| مَریضْخانِه | marizxâne |
All forms refer to a large medical facility.
What does it mean word for word?
The word بیمارستان is composed of bimâr (patient) and the suffix estân, which denotes a place or institution. The word šafâxâne is derived from šafâ, meaning 'cure' or 'healing'.
Which one should you use?
بیمارستان is the most common and standard term for a hospital in modern Persian. In contrast, šafâxâne is a more formal or slightly archaic term that literally means 'house of healing'.
How do you pronounce it?
šafāxāna
Did you know?
- In historical Persia, hospitals known as بیمارستان often functioned as universities where students lived and studied medicine alongside the patients.
- The suffix ستان in بیمارستان is the same one used in گوهرستان for 'gemstone land' and the name of the country 'Afghanistan', meaning a place or land of a specific thing.
- The word مریض (mariz), which forms part of مریضخانه, is a loanword from Arabic, showing the heavy influence of Arabic on Persian medical terminology.
Example sentences for Persian are not verified yet.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “hospital” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
