Japanese Illness and Symptoms Vocabulary: Netsu, Seki, Zutsū

The three symptom patterns

Almost every symptom sentence in Japanese fits one of three frames. For things you have, use ga arimasu: netsu ga arimasu, I have a fever. For things that come out of the body, use ga demasu: seki ga demasu, I'm coughing, hanamizu ga demasu, my nose is running. For pain, use body part plus ga itai desu: nodo ga itai desu, my throat hurts.

A fourth pattern, ga shimasu, is used with feelings and sensations such as zutsū, headache, samuke, chills, and memai, dizziness. When you are not sure which pattern fits, the explanatory n desu ending makes any of them sound natural in a consultation: netsu ga aru n desu, the thing is, I have a fever.

Core symptom words

These words cover most common complaints. Note that several use the kanji 痛 for pain, read tsū in compounds, and that kuchi, nodo, hana and onaka are the body parts you will name most.

Common illnesses and conditions

Kaze, a cold, is the word you will use most, often in the phrase kaze o hiku, to catch a cold, and kaze o hiita mitai desu, I think I've caught a cold. Infuruenza, shortened to infuru, is influenza. In spring, kafunshō, hay fever, is so common that it is a regular topic of small talk.

Other everyday terms include shokuchūdoku, food poisoning, necchūshō, heatstroke, which is a serious concern in the Japanese summer, and iwakan, the sense of something not being right in a body part. Arerugī is allergy, and telling medical staff about allergies is one of the most important things you can do.

Saying how long and how bad

Doctors almost always ask since when, itsu kara desu ka. Answer with a time word plus kara: kinō kara, since yesterday, kesa kara, since this morning. For a number of days, use mae kara: mikka mae kara, since three days ago. Counting days uses special words for one to ten: ichinichi, futsuka, mikka, yokka, itsuka and so on.

For severity and frequency, a handful of adverbs do most of the work: sukoshi, a little, kanari, quite, hidoku, badly, and tokidoki, sometimes. Zutto means continuously, and yoru ni naru to means when night comes, useful for coughs that get worse at night.

Medicine and pharmacy words

Medicine is kusuri, and you take it with nomu, to drink: kusuri o nomu. Prescription medicine comes with a shohōsen, prescription, which you take to a pharmacy, yakkyoku. Drugstores, doraggusutoa, sell over-the-counter medicine and staff can advise, though for some items a pharmacist must be present.

Instructions on packets follow a fixed vocabulary. Shokugo means after meals, shokuzen before meals and shokkan between meals, which is roughly two hours after eating, not during a meal. Ichi-nichi san-kai means three times a day. Ikkai no ryō is the dose per time, and fukusayō are side effects.

At the clinic: key phrases

At a clinic, kurinikku or iin, you usually start at reception, uketsuke, with your health insurance card and a questionnaire, monshinhyō, where you tick your symptoms. The doctor will then ask where it hurts, since when and whether you have allergies or take any medicine regularly. Keep answers short and clear.

If you are unsure of the right department, naika is internal medicine and covers colds, fevers and stomach problems; jibika is ear, nose and throat; hifuka is dermatology. The guides to seeing a doctor and visiting a pharmacy cover the full appointment in more depth.

Common mistakes

• Saying kusuri o taberu: medicine is drunk in Japanese, kusuri o nomu, even tablets.
• Saying netsu desu for I have a fever: use netsu ga arimasu or netsu ga aru n desu.
• Using itai as a noun: say atama ga itai, not atama no itai ga arimasu.
• Reading shokkan as with meals: it means between meals, on an empty stomach.
• Confusing kaze, cold, and kaze, wind: they sound the same but are written 風邪 and 風, and context makes it clear.
• Forgetting to mention allergies: always say ... no arerugī ga arimasu if it applies.

How to review the words

Health vocabulary is best learned before you need it, because illness is the worst time to be searching a dictionary. Build a short personal script: your allergies, any regular medicine, and one sentence for each of the three symptom patterns. Keep it in your phone alongside your insurance details.

Unihongo's free learning games are a good way to drill the symptom and medicine words in short rounds until netsu, seki and hakike are instant. Then use them in speech, where the duration phrases matter most, and repeat a clinic conversation once a month so the script stays fresh.

• Learn the three patterns first: ga arimasu, ga demasu, ga itai
• Add ten symptoms, then five illnesses
• Practise itsu kara answers with day counters
• Read one real medicine box and find shokugo and the dose