Getting Sick? Chinese Expressions Talking about Feeling Unwell

We all get sick once in a while. How do say when a person does not feel well in Chinese? Here are some expressions talking about feeling unwell.

In Chinese, when a person feels unwell, he can say “我不舒服。” （Wǒ bú shūfú）When the person feels sick, he can say “我生病了。”（Wǒ shēngbìngle.）

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Describe the Feelings of Feeling Unwell

To describe how one feels, here are some examples:

我感觉恶心。 Wǒ gǎnjué ěxīn.   I feel nausea.

我感觉虚弱。 Wǒ gǎnjué xūruò.  I feel weak.

我没有胃口。 Wǒ méiyǒu wèikǒu。 I have no appetite.

疼 ｜ 痛  Téng | tòng

There is a very useful word in Chinese, “疼” or “痛“(pain). When added after a body part, it indicates the pain from that part. For example,

 头疼｜头痛   Tóuténg |tóutòng   headache

牙疼 ｜牙痛   Yá téng |yátòng      toothache

肚子疼 ｜肚子痛   Dùzi téng |dùzi tòng   stomachache ｜tummy ache

喉咙疼 ｜喉咙痛  Hóulóng téng |hóulóng tòng     sore throat

 

I have a headache. 我头疼。Wǒ tóuténg

Do you have a toothache? 你牙疼吗？Nǐ yá téng ma

She has a stomachache. 他肚子痛。Tā dùzi tòng

I have a sore throat.  我喉咙痛。Wǒ hóulóng tòng

In addition to the pain, some other symptoms include:

拉肚子   Lādùzi  diarrhea

发烧       Fāshāo  fever

流鼻涕   Liú bítì  running nose

呕吐       Ǒutù     vomit

咳嗽       Késòu   cough

What to Do When A Person is Sick

When a person is not feeling well, the first thing s/he needs to do is to take a rest 休息(Xiūxí). Sleep 睡觉(Shuìjiào) obviously helps too. Of course, s/he should not forget to drink lots of water 喝水（Hē shuǐ ) or take medicine 吃药(Chī yào).

No matter how many things one needs to work on, when s/he is sick, it is better to take it easy (放松 Fàngsōng) and recover soon （早点康复Zǎodiǎn kāngfù）!