医療（いりょう、iryou）
- medical care

The Japanese word 医療, pronounced いりょう (iryō), fundamentally means "medical care," "medical treatment," or "healthcare." It encompasses a wide range of activities and services related to maintaining or improving human health. This includes the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases, injuries, and other physical or mental impairments. 医療 covers both the practical aspects of medicine (like surgery and medication) and the broader systems and institutions that provide these services. It's a crucial term in the context of health, wellness, and the medical field in Japan.

⚫︎医療費が高すぎる。 Translation: Medical expenses are too high. ⚫︎最新の医療技術が開発された。 Translation: The latest medical technology was developed. ⚫︎彼女は医療の道に進みたいと考えている。 Translation: She is thinking of pursuing a career in medicine/healthcare.

You use 医療 when discussing anything related to healthcare. This includes talking about hospitals, doctors, nurses, medical procedures, treatments, health insurance, public health initiatives, medical research, and the entire infrastructure supporting the health of a population. It's appropriate in both formal and informal settings, although the specific level of formality might influence the sentence structure and vocabulary used alongside 医療.

医療 is primarily written using kanji and read with the hiragana reading いりょう. There are no common variations in okurigana. It is not generally written in katakana.

⚫︎ヘルスケア (herusukea) - Healthcare (loanword from English) ⚫︎医学 (igaku) - Medical science ⚫︎診療 (shinryō) - Medical examination/treatment

There are no direct antonyms for 医療, as it is a broad concept. However, related terms could be seen as contrasting, depending on the context: ⚫︎病気 (byōki) - Illness/disease (as opposed to health) ⚫︎死 (shi) - Death

日本は世界的に見ても医療水準が高い国です。 ・Translation: Japan is a country with a high standard of medical care, even by global standards. ・Explanation: This sentence highlights the quality of healthcare in Japan, often a point of national pride.

その新しい病院は地域住民に高度な医療を提供しています。 ・Translation: That new hospital provides advanced medical care to the local residents. ・Explanation: This sentence discusses the practical application of 医療, emphasizing the services provided by a medical institution.

The word 医療 is a compound word formed from two kanji: 医 (i), meaning "medicine" or "doctor," and 療 (ryō), meaning "treatment" or "therapy." Therefore, 医療 literally translates to "medical treatment" or "medical care."