How to describe your symptoms to a Chinese doctor

You made it past 挂号 and into the consultation room. The doctor has 90 seconds for you, so precision beats poetry.

What you'll say

Tap play to hear it. Everything on this page runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

Heads-up: the voice you hear here is your browser’s built-in Mandarin — the app sounds considerably better. On iPhone it uses Apple’s enhanced and premium system voices, plays at real conversational speed, and has a slow mode for practising.

This device has no Chinese voice installed, so audio can’t play here. The app doesn’t have that problem — it uses the Mandarin voices built into iOS.

我咳嗽三天了。

Wǒ késou sān tiān le.

I've had a cough for three days.

The …了 pattern for durations. Doctors love a number.

这里疼。

Zhèlǐ téng.

It hurts here. (point)

Pointing is medically valid. Doctors prefer it to vague descriptions.

我在吃这个药。

Wǒ zài chī zhège yào.

I'm taking this medicine. (show the box or a photo)

Keep photos of your regular meds on your phone. Saves a translation crisis.

1 more phrase in this situation — plus the real-speed audio for all 4, the listening drill, and the camera. Six situations are free in the app; this one is part of Pro.

Get Tingbudong

What they'll say back

This is the part nobody teaches. Real Mandarin comes back fast and blunt, so hear it at natural speed first.

Press play before you read. In the app, anything you miss comes back slower and then again later, until you catch it at full speed.

They say

哪里不舒服？

Nǎlǐ bù shūfu?

Where do you feel unwell?

You can answer

我咳嗽三天了，晚上更严重。

Wǒ késou sān tiān le, wǎnshang gèng yánzhòng.

I've had a cough for three days — worse at night.

They say

先去验个血，结果出来再来找我。

Xiān qù yàn ge xiě, jiéguǒ chūlái zài lái zhǎo wǒ.

First get a blood test — come back to me with the results.

You can answer

好的，在哪里验血？

Hǎo de, zài nǎlǐ yàn xiě?

OK — where do I get the blood test?

Other situations in Health

At the pharmacy Hospital check-in (挂号)