Describing symptoms and seeking medical care in Japanese

Level A2

Describing symptoms and seeking medical care in Japanese

This lesson helps you name body parts and describe common symptoms in Japanese. You’ll learn how to say how long a symptom has lasted, make a medical appointment, ask for pharmacy help, and offer simple advice.

Body parts, symptoms, and care

Key words: “頭” (head), “喉” (throat), “お腹” (belly or abdomen), “足” (leg or foot), “痛い” (painful), “頭痛” (headache), “熱” (fever), “咳” (cough), “間” (duration, as in “二日間”), “から” (since / from), “予約” (appointment or reservation), “薬局” (pharmacy), and “休む” (to rest). In “頭が痛い,” が marks the body part as the subject, and 痛い is an adjective. Japanese usually leaves out a possessive such as “my” when the context makes ownership clear.

Saying where it hurts

A pattern is “[体の部位]が痛いです。” (“[Body part] hurts.”). “頭が痛い。” means “My head hurts” (plain/informal), “お腹が痛いの？” asks “Does your stomach hurt?” (informal), and “どこが痛いですか？” asks “Where does it hurt?” politely. “足が痛いです。” means “The pain is in my leg” (polite). Japanese marks the painful part with “が”; English often uses “my” and “hurts.” The plain forms suit familiar conversation, while “です／ます” forms are polite.

体の部位が痛(いた)いです。

Describing symptoms

For a sore throat, say “喉が痛いです。” (“My throat is sore.”; polite). For a cough, say “咳が出るんだ。” (“I've got a cough.”; informal), literally describing the cough as coming out. English says “have a cough”; Japanese uses “咳が出る,” literally “a cough comes out.”

Saying how long a symptom has lasted

Use “[日数]間、[症状]が続いています。” (“[Number of days], [symptom] has continued.”). “二日間、頭痛が続いています。” means “I've had a headache for two days” (polite); “三日間、熱が続いてるんだ。” means “I've had a fever for three days” (informal). Japanese marks the time span with “間” and describes the symptom as continuing.

日数間(かん)、症状が続いています。

Saying when a symptom began

Use “[始まった時点]から[症状]が続いています。” to name a starting point. “はい、昨日から熱があります。” means “Yes, I've had a fever since yesterday” (polite); “月曜日から咳が続いてるんだ。” means “I've had this cough since Monday” (informal). “から” marks the point from which the symptom has continued; English uses “since.”

始まった時点から症状が続いています。

Saying how long ago it started

The pattern is “[日数]前から咳が出ています。” (“A cough has been present since [number of days] ago.”). “二日前から咳が出ています。” means “I've had a cough for two days” (polite). Japanese uses “前” (“ago”) with “から” (“since/from”); English can express the same idea as “The cough started two days ago.”

日数前(まえ)から咳が出ています。

Requesting an appointment

A polite request follows “[希望する日]、診察の予約をお願いしたいんですが。” “今日、診察の予約をお願いしたいんですが。” requests an appointment today. “お願いしたい” expresses “I’d like to ask,” and the unfinished “んですが” softens the request and invites a response. “明日、診察の予約できる？” asks “Can I get an appointment tomorrow?” informally, with rising intonation. Use the polite wording with clinic staff; the plain question suits familiar conversation. English also adjusts wording for politeness, while Japanese additionally distinguishes plain and polite grammatical endings.

希望する日、診察の予約(よやく)をお願いしたいんですが。

Booking an appointment

At the clinic, the exchange is: a: “今日、診察の予約をお願いしたいんですが。” (I'd like an appointment today, please; polite.) b: “ご本人の予約ですか？” (Is the appointment for you?; polite.) a: “はい、昨日から熱があります。” (Yes, I've had a fever since yesterday; polite.) b: “明日の午前中に来られますか？” (Can you come tomorrow morning?; polite.) a: “はい、九時で大丈夫です。” (Yes, nine o’clock is fine; polite.) These lines use polite forms throughout. Japanese makes politeness visible in its verb and sentence endings, while English “you” and the verb form do not change this way.

Getting help at a pharmacy

Ask politely “この近くに薬局はありますか？” (“Is there a pharmacy near here?”). “ありますか” is a polite question about existence or availability. To ask someone to tell you where a pharmacy is, say “近くの薬局を教えていただけますか？” (“Could you help me find a pharmacy?”); “教えていただけますか” makes a more deferential request. Ask about headache medicine with “頭痛の薬はありますか？” (“Do you have anything for a headache?”). “頭痛の薬” means medicine for a headache; English can likewise say “headache medicine” or “medicine for a headache.”

Giving simple advice

For informal advice, say “今日は休んだほうがいいよ。” (“You should rest today.”). To ask someone politely to rest, say “数日、休んでください。” (“Please rest for a few days.”). English uses “should” for advice; Japanese uses “ほうがいい,” while “ください” makes the request polite.

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