Question 1

Can I say 他住病房 to mean he's in the hospital?

Accepted Answer

Say 他住院了, not 他住病房. The second one sounds like he's squatting in a room. 住院 is a fixed word meaning be admitted as a patient. 病房 is only the physical room, so it can't carry the medical status. 他住病房 paints a strange picture, like he just moved in. Meanwhile 护士去病房了 is fine — that's a nurse physically walking to the ward.

Question 2

If a nurse asks where my dad is, do I say 3号病房 or 3号病床?

Accepted Answer

病房 is the room; 病床 is the single bed inside it. Nurses want the bed number. One 病房 holds several 病床, and hospitals number both. If you only give a ward number, staff still have to hunt. Doctors and nurses ask 几床？ because that pins down the exact patient. Use the ward number when you mean the room itself, and the bed number when you mean the bed.

Question 3

Do I need 里 in 他不在病房, or should it be 他不在病房里?

Accepted Answer

Both are fine. 里 just adds an inside the space flavor — not a grammar requirement. When the place is a known, specific one, 在病房 is already complete. Adding 里 pushes the focus onto the physical interior, like pointing inside the room. Real speakers drop 里 constantly in fast conversation. As a rule of thumb, if the listener knows which ward you mean, 里 is optional.

“老先生回家了，不在病房。” (The old gentleman had gone home and wasn't in the ward.) ── 《三号病房的苹果》

Dimension	Natural	Avoid
Patient status	他住院了	他住病房
Physical location	他在3号病房	他住院在3号病房
Staff moving around	护士去病房了	护士住院了

Dimension	Natural	Avoid
The room	3号病房 / 3病室	3号病床 (that's just the bed)
The bed inside it	3号病床 / 3床	3号病房 (too broad for staff)
Nurse hunting a patient	几床？	几病房？ (unusual to staff)

Dimension	Natural	Avoid
Known, specific ward	他不在病房	他不在病房里 (fine, but heavier)
Emphasis on interior	他不在病房里	他不在病房 (drops the emphasis)
Talking about the whole hospital	他不在医院	他不在病房 (too specific)

病房

Common Usage & Traps

Can I say 他住病房 to mean he's in the hospital?

If a nurse asks where my dad is, do I say 3号病房 or 3号病床?

Do I need 里 in 他不在病房, or should it be 他不在病房里?

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