Talking about health in Chinese
In case you need to visit a drugstore or a doctor when you’re travelling in a Chinese-speaking country, it’s important to learn some basic words and phrases for talking about health in Chinese. We hope you never need to use them, but check out this free audio lesson – it doesn’t hurt to be prepared!
What’s the Chinese word for stomach ache? How do you tell someone to call an ambulance, or explain to a doctor that you’re in pain? After this lesson you’ll be able to describe your symptoms in Chinese, and know what to say in an emergency if necessary. Let’s get started…
Chinese pronunciation help for talking about health
As hard as you try, without helpful feedback your Chinese pronunciation is never going to be the same as a native speaker’s. If you've found it difficult to perfect the way you say Chinese words and phrases, this lesson will help you.
Using the blue Rocket Record buttons you can record the way you say each medical word or phrase, and compare it with the way a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese does. That’s right, with Rocket Chinese voice mapping technology you can record your voice as many times as you need until your pronunciation matches the Chinese speaker!
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Wǒ juéde téng。
我觉得疼。
我觉得疼。
I’m in pain.
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Wǒ tóuténg。
我头疼。
我头疼。
I have a headache.
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Wǒ wèiténg。
我胃疼。
我胃疼。
I have a stomach ache
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Wǒ sǎngzi téng。
我嗓子疼。
我嗓子疼。
I have a sore throat.
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Wǒ ěrduo téng。
我耳朵疼。
我耳朵疼。
I have sore ears.
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Wǒ yáténg。
我牙疼。
我牙疼。
I have a tooth ache.
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Wǒ bìngle。
我病了。
我病了。
I’m sick.
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Wǒ juéde bùshūfu。
我觉得不舒服。
我觉得不舒服。
I’m feeling sick.
Can't see the Chinese characters?
Go here for help: http://www.rocketlanguages.com/chinese/characterhelp.php
The following phrases are useful when describing where it hurts…
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Wǒ gēbo téng。
我胳膊疼。
我胳膊疼。
My arm hurts.
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Wǒ tuǐténg。
我腿疼。
我腿疼。
My leg hurts.
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Wǒ tóuténg。
我头疼。
我头疼。
My head hurts.
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Wǒ xīgài téng。
我膝盖疼。
我膝盖疼。
My knee hurts.
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Wǒ pìgu téng。
我屁股疼。
我屁股疼。
My bum hurts.
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Wǒ yáyín téng。
我牙龈疼。
我牙龈疼。
My gum hurts.
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Wǒ jiǎoténg。
我脚疼。
我脚疼。
My foot hurts.
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Wǒ shǒuzhǐ téng。
我手指疼。
我手指疼。
My finger hurts.
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Wǒ jiǎozhǐ téng。
我脚趾疼。
我脚趾疼。
My toe hurts.
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Wǒ yǎnténg。
我眼疼。
我眼疼。
My eye hurts.
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Wǒ jiānbǎng téng。
我肩膀疼。
我肩膀疼。
My shoulder hurts.
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Wǒ bèiténg。
我背疼。
我背疼。
My back hurts.
When you go to the doctor he or she will ask you about your symptoms…
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Nǐ yǒu shénme zhèngzhuàng？
你有什么症状？
你有什么症状？
What kind of symptoms do you have?
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Nǐ téng ma？
你疼吗？
你疼吗？
Do you have pain?
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Nǐ nǎr téng？
你哪儿疼？
你哪儿疼？
Where do you have pain?
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Nǐ fāshāo ma？
你发烧吗？
你发烧吗？
Do you have fever?
Maybe you have an idea what’s wrong with you. You could say …
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Wǒ gǎnmào le。
我感冒了。
我感冒了。
I have a cold.
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Wǒ déle liúgǎn。
我得了流感。
我得了流感。
I have the flu.
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Wǒ gǎnrǎn le。
我感染了。
我感染了。
I have an infection.
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Wǒ yǒu bìngdú。
我有病毒。
我有病毒。
I have a virus.
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Wǒ guòmǐn le。
我过敏了。
我过敏了。
I have an allergy.
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Wǒ déle huāfěnrè。
我得了花粉热。
我得了花粉热。
I have hay fever.
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wǒ yǒu tòngjīng。
我有痛经。
我有痛经。
I have period pain.
Maybe you cut yourself and all you need is a bandage, you might need some sleeping pills for a long haul flight or cough syrup. Here is what you have to say…
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Wǒ xūyào bēngdài。
我需要 绷带。
我需要 绷带。
I need a bandage.
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Wǒ xūyào chuàngkětiē。
我需要 创可贴。
我需要 创可贴。
I need a plaster.
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Wǒ xūyào yìxiē zhǐténgyào。
我需要一些止疼药。
我需要一些止疼药。
I need some pain killers.
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Wǒ xūyào yìxiē ānmiányào。
我需要一些安眠药。
我需要一些安眠药。
I need some sleeping pills.
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Wǒ xūyào yìxiē zhǐkétángjiāng。
我需要一些止咳糖浆。
我需要一些止咳糖浆。
I need some cough syrup.
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Wǒ xūyào yìxiē rùnhóupiàn。
我需要一些润喉片。
我需要一些润喉片。
I need some throat lozenges.
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Wǒ xūyào yígè yàofāng。
我需要一个药方。
我需要一个药方。
I need a prescription.
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Wǒ xūyào bìyùn。
我需要避孕。
我需要避孕。
I need some contraception.
Here are some more general phrases and words…
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yàodiàn
药店
药店
The pharmacy
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yào
药
药
The medicine
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jiùhùchē
救护车
救护车
The Ambulance
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Jiào jiùhùchē！
叫救护车！
叫救护车！
Call an ambulance!
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yīyuàn
医院
医院
The hospital
If you need to call an ambulance you need to know the number. In China, you need to call 120.
Xià cì jiàn! (下次见！)
Lin Ping
Rocket Chinese
P.S. Here is a little exercise for you to test your Chinese skills.
Exercise. Match the Chinese phrases and words with the correct English translation. Write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided.
| 1. Jiào jiùhùchē！ | 叫救护车！ | ( ____ ) | a. I need a bandage. |
| 2. Wǒ xūyào bēngdài。 | 我需要 绷带。 | ( ____ ) | b. I’m sick. |
| 3. Wǒ bìngle。 | 我病了。 | ( ____ ) | c. I’m in pain. |
| 4. Wǒ juéde téng。 | 我觉得疼。 | ( ____ ) | d. The pharmacy. |
| 5. yàodiàn | 药店 | ( ____ ) | e. Call an ambulance! |
