Practical Mandarin guide
How to Describe Symptoms in Chinese
Describe where it hurts, when it started, and whether it comes and goes in Mandarin. Prepare a short note for a clinician.
A symptom description answers several different questions: where it hurts, what it feels like, when it began, and whether it is constant or comes and goes. A single translation such as stomach pain cannot supply all of those details. Prepare separate statements about location, timing, and pattern so the clinician can check each detail.
Start with these phrases
Prepare descriptions that match what you have actually felt and observed. Use only statements that match your own experience. This is a Mandarin communication lesson, not a diagnosis or treatment guide; seek appropriate professional care and language support when important details are unclear.
Words for the symptoms you feel
- 你哪里疼
This asks where it hurts. Give the body area and point if needed. Add the starting time when asked.
- 我头疼得厉害
The phrase describes a strong headache, not a diagnosis or a specific numerical pain score.
- 我肚子疼
This names the area of discomfort in everyday speech. Point to the area and let the clinician investigate the cause.
- 我咳嗽了
This reports a cough. Add its timing if asked, without guessing that it establishes an allergy or another cause.
- 从昨天开始的。
This supplies a starting point. Add whether it has been continuous or intermittent if that distinction matters to the question.
What you might hear back
一直疼还是一阵一阵的？
yì zhí téng hái shi yí zhèn yí zhèn de?
Does it hurt continuously or in episodes?
The question is about the pattern over time, not only the body's location.
量过体温吗？
liáng guo tǐ wēn ma?
Have you taken your temperature?
Report an actual measurement if you have one. If you have no reading, explain that you have yet to measure it.
比昨天严重吗？
bǐ zuó tiān yán zhòng ma?
Is it worse than yesterday?
比 introduces a comparison. Answer about the change you actually noticed.
Location, timing, and recurring symptoms
A body word locates pain without diagnosing it
我肚子疼 is a conversational way to report pain in the abdominal area. Let the clinician assess the cause after you describe and locate the pain. 我头疼 reports a headache. You can point to the precise area as you speak and let the clinician ask follow-up questions. Do not choose a disease name from a dictionary merely because its English description resembles what you feel.
Describing the start time and recurring episodes
从昨天开始的 says the problem started yesterday. Add whether it happened once, continued, or returned in episodes. 昨天疼过一次 means it hurt once yesterday; 一直疼 says it keeps hurting. 时不时会疼 describes pain from time to time. These are different timelines. Select the version that is true, and use a date or a written note if yesterday could be ambiguous.
Severity and duration answer separate questions
疼得厉害 says the pain is strong. If the clinician uses a pain scale, ask how to give a rating on that scale. 疼了多久 asks how long the pain has lasted, whereas 有多疼 asks how much it hurts. Respond to the question actually asked. Use the clinician's explanation of the scale to describe your own level of pain.
Observed, measured, and unknown
我发烧了 reports a fever. If you measured a temperature, show the reading and its unit, with the approximate time of measurement if known. If you have not measured it, 我没量体温 explicitly says so. Report a cough and a known allergy separately so the clinician can assess their relevance. A short note can keep these details distinct while you get professional help.
Locate the symptom from your own viewpoint
左边 is the left side and 右边 is the right side. If someone is facing you, pointing to your own body while speaking helps prevent a mirror-image misunderstanding. 这里疼 means it hurts here; 那里疼 points to a different area. The location helps the clinician ask more precise questions. 以前也疼过 says there has been pain before, whereas 第一次这样 says this is the first time it has been like this. These are descriptions of your experience, not labels for a condition. When preparing a note, separate place, starting time, pattern, and previous episodes onto different lines. Check that each line is true before showing it. Separate details make it easier for the clinician to check a date, a body area, or a change in symptoms.
Conversations
Adding the frequency after the starting date
The patient adds frequency after giving the starting point. This prevents since yesterday from being mistaken for constant pain.
shén me shí hou kāi shǐ téng de?
When did the pain start?
cóng zuó tiān wǎn shang kāi shǐ de.
It started last night.
yì zhí téng ma?
Does it hurt continuously?
bú shì, shí bu shí huì téng.
No, it hurts from time to time.
Explaining that a temperature has yet to be measured
An honest answer about what is unknown provides better communication than inventing a number from a practice card.
liáng guo tǐ wēn ma?
Have you taken your temperature?
méi yǒu, wǒ méi liáng tǐ wēn.
No, I haven't taken it.
hái yǒu bié de bù shū fu ma?
Is anything else bothering you?
hái yǒu ké sou, yě shì zuó tiān kāi shǐ de.
I also have a cough. That started yesterday too.
Check a symptom description
Does 从昨天开始 mean the symptom has been constant since yesterday?
Not by itself. It supplies the starting point. 一直 or a description such as 时不时 clarifies the pattern.
Which phrase says you have not measured a temperature?
我没量体温. It tells the clinician that you have no measured reading to report.
A question contains 比昨天. What relationship is being asked about?
A comparison with yesterday, such as whether the symptom is worse. It is different from asking when the symptom began.
Sources for location, timing, and recurring symptoms
More symptom and care language
Questions learners ask
How do I say that something hurts?
For a simple example, use 我肚子疼: my stomach hurts. Point to the area if needed.
How do I say I have a bad headache?
Say 我头疼得厉害. It reports strong pain, not a diagnosis.
How do I distinguish a cough from an allergy?
我咳嗽了 reports a cough. 我对…过敏 names a known allergy. Do not use one to guess the cause of the other.
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