医者
いしゃ
hepburn isha
doctor, physician
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- 医者になりたいです。I want to become a doctor.
- 医者に行ってきました。I went to the doctor.
Collocations
医者 (isha, doctor — casual)医師 (ishi, physician — formal)先生 (sensei, doctor / teacher — direct address)歯医者 (haisha, dentist)内科 (naika, internal medicine)
Mnemonic
医者 isha — doctor, casual register. Register trap: 医者 (casual between friends/patients), 医師 (ishi, formal noun, news), お医者さん (o-isha-san, polite), 先生 (sensei, direct address to doctor or teacher). Calling a doctor "医者" to their face is rude — patients say 先生. Same pattern: 歯医者 (dentist), 獣医 (vet), 薬剤師 (pharmacist). Japanese medical vocabulary demands precise register split. Onyomi い (i): 医院 (small clinic), 医療 (medical care), 医学 (medicine).
Quick check
Most polite direct address to a doctor in Japanese?