Health Words in Japanese Made Easy for Doctor Visits

Health Words in Japanese can feel a little intimidating at first, because suddenly you need words for pain, fever, medicine, and the extremely unfunny business of explaining symptoms while half-sick. Charming. But the good news is that the most useful health vocabulary is quite learnable, and you do not need medical-level Japanese to survive a clinic visit.

This guide focuses on the words and phrases that matter most in real life: what hurts, how long it has hurt, and how to ask for help politely. If you can say even a few of these out loud, doctor visits get much less mysterious and much more manageable.

For a quick grammar helper on politeness, you may also want Say Please in Japanese. And if you want the bigger picture, the main Learn Japanese page is a good place to keep going.

Table of Contents

Essential Health Words You Will Actually Use

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example Sentence	Rōmaji	English Translation
病気	byōki	illness, sickness	私は病気です。	Watashi wa byōki desu.	I am sick.
痛い	itai	painful, hurts	頭が痛いです。	Atama ga itai desu.	My head hurts.
熱	netsu	fever	少し熱があります。	Sukoshi netsu ga arimasu.	I have a slight fever.
咳	seki	cough	咳が出ます。	Seki ga demasu.	I have a cough.
鼻水	hanamizu	runny nose	鼻水が止まりません。	Hanamizu ga tomarimasen.	My runny nose will not stop.
喉	nodo	throat	喉が痛いです。	Nodo ga itai desu.	My throat hurts.
頭	atama	head	頭が痛いです。	Atama ga itai desu.	I have a headache.
お腹	onaka	stomach, belly	お腹が痛いです。	Onaka ga itai desu.	My stomach hurts.
背中	senaka	back	背中が痛いです。	Senaka ga itai desu.	My back hurts.
めまい	memai	dizziness	めまいがします。	Memai ga shimasu.	I feel dizzy.
吐き気	hakike	nausea	吐き気があります。	Hakike ga arimasu.	I feel nauseous.
薬	kusuri	medicine	薬を飲みます。	Kusuri o nomimasu.	I take medicine.

Notice how many symptom words pair naturally with 〜が痛いです (~ ga itai desu, “~ hurts”). Japanese loves a simple structure when life gets complicated. Rude, honestly, but convenient.

Useful Phrases For A Doctor Visit

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example Sentence	Rōmaji	English Translation
具合が悪い	guai ga warui	feel unwell	今日は具合が悪いです。	Kyō wa guai ga warui desu.	I feel unwell today.
病院	byōin	hospital, clinic	病院に行きます。	Byōin ni ikimasu.	I will go to the hospital.
診察	shinsatsu	medical examination	診察を受けます。	Shinsatsu o ukemasu.	I will get an examination.
先生	sensei	doctor, teacher	先生に話します。	Sensei ni hanashimasu.	I will talk to the doctor.
受付	uketsuke	reception, front desk	受付で名前を言います。	Uketsuke de namae o iimasu.	I say my name at reception.
保険証	hokenshō	health insurance card	保険証を見せます。	Hokenshō o misemasu.	I show my insurance card.
予約	yoyaku	reservation, appointment	予約があります。	Yoyaku ga arimasu.	I have an appointment.
待合室	machiaishitsu	waiting room	待合室で待ちます。	Machiaishitsu de machimasu.	I wait in the waiting room.
検査	kensa	test, examination	検査をします。	Kensa o shimasu.	I will have a test.
注射	chūsha	injection, shot	注射はこわいです。	Chūsha wa kowai desu.	Shots are scary.
処方箋	shohōsen	prescription	処方箋をもらいます。	Shohōsen o moraimasu.	I will get a prescription.
市販薬	shihanyaku	over-the-counter medicine	市販薬を買います。	Shihanyaku o kaimasu.	I buy over-the-counter medicine.

Real-Life Sentences For Explaining Symptoms

Kanji	Rōmaji	English Meaning	Example Sentence	Rōmaji	English Translation
三日	mikkka / mikka	three days	三日前から痛いです。	Mikka mae kara itai desu.	It has hurt since three days ago.
昨日	kinō	yesterday	昨日から熱があります。	Kinō kara netsu ga arimasu.	I have had a fever since yesterday.
今朝	kesa	this morning	今朝から咳が出ます。	Kesa kara seki ga demasu.	I started coughing this morning.
毎日	mainichi	every day	毎日痛みます。	Mainichi itamimasu.	It hurts every day.
食べる	taberu	to eat	食べるとお腹が痛いです。	Taberu to onaka ga itai desu.	My stomach hurts when I eat.
飲む	nomu	to drink, take medicine	薬を飲んでもいいですか。	Kusuri o nonde mo ii desu ka.	Can I take medicine?
眠れない	nemurenai	cannot sleep	痛くて眠れないです。	Itakute nemurenai desu.	It hurts so much I cannot sleep.
寒い	samui	cold	とても寒いです。	Totemo samui desu.	I feel very cold.
暑い	atsui	hot	体が暑いです。	Karada ga atsui desu.	My body feels hot.
だるい	darui	sluggish, tired	体がだるいです。	Karada ga darui desu.	My body feels sluggish.
かゆい	kayui	itchy	皮膚がかゆいです。	Hifu ga kayui desu.	My skin is itchy.
息苦しい	ikigurushii	hard to breathe	少し息苦しいです。	Sukoshi ikigurushii desu.	It is a little hard to breathe.

When you are describing symptoms, short and clear beats dramatic and poetic. A clinic is not the time for your best novel.

Polite Phrases That Make Everything Easier

お願いします — onegai shimasu — please / I ask for your help
すみません — sumimasen — excuse me / sorry / pardon me
大丈夫です — daijōbu desu — I am okay / it is fine
もう一度お願いします — mō ichido onegai shimasu — please say it one more time
ゆっくりお願いします — yukkuri onegai shimasu — please speak slowly
英語はできますか — Eigo wa dekimasu ka — can you speak English?
これを見てください — kore o mite kudasai — please look at this
どこが痛いですか — doko ga itai desu ka — where does it hurt?
少し痛いです — sukoshi itai desu — it hurts a little
とても痛いです — totemo itai desu — it hurts a lot

If you learn only two polite helpers, make them すみません (sumimasen) and お願いします (onegai shimasu). They open doors, soften requests, and make you sound much more natural. Convenient little magic words, basically.

Common Health Word Patterns

Pattern	Meaning	Example	Rōmaji	English
〜が痛いです	~ hurts	頭が痛いです	Atama ga itai desu	My head hurts
〜があります	I have ~ / there is ~	熱があります	Netsu ga arimasu	I have a fever
〜が出ます	~ comes out / occurs	咳が出ます	Seki ga demasu	I have a cough
〜がします	I feel ~ / experience ~	めまいがします	Memai ga shimasu	I feel dizzy
〜前から	since ~ ago	一週間前からです	Ishūkan mae kara desu	Since one week ago
〜てもいいですか	Is it okay to ~ ?	薬を飲んでもいいですか	Kusuri o nonde mo ii desu ka	Can I take medicine?

Mini Practice

Say “My throat hurts” using 喉 and 痛い.
Say “I have a fever since yesterday” using 昨日 and 熱.
Say “Please speak slowly” using ゆっくりお願いします.
Say “I feel dizzy” using めまい.
Say “I have a cough and a runny nose” using 咳 and 鼻水.

Answers:

喉が痛いです。 — Nodo ga itai desu. — My throat hurts.
昨日から熱があります。 — Kinō kara netsu ga arimasu. — I have had a fever since yesterday.
ゆっくりお願いします。 — Yukkuri onegai shimasu. — Please speak slowly.
めまいがします。 — Memai ga shimasu. — I feel dizzy.
咳と鼻水があります。 — Seki to hanamizu ga arimasu. — I have a cough and a runny nose.

Easy Mistakes To Avoid

Wrong Idea	Better Way	Why It Helps
Using only one vague word like “sick” for everything	熱があります, 咳が出ます, 頭が痛いです	Specific symptoms help the doctor understand faster
Forgetting politeness	お願いします, すみません	Polite phrases make requests smoother
Trying to translate everything word for word	Use simple patterns like 〜が痛いです	Japanese clinic language is often beautifully simple
Speaking too fast when nervous	ゆっくりお願いします	You can slow the conversation down and breathe
Not mentioning when it started	昨日から, 三日前から	Time expressions matter a lot in medical situations

What If I Do Not Know The Exact Word?

Use a simple sentence with a body part and 痛いです (itai desu) or 具合が悪いです (guai ga warui desu). That is usually enough to start. You can also point to the area and say ここが痛いです (koko ga itai desu) — “This area hurts.” Helpful, direct, no drama required.

Quick Reference Summary

病気 — byōki — illness
痛い — itai — hurts
熱 — netsu — fever
咳 — seki — cough
鼻水 — hanamizu — runny nose
喉 — nodo — throat
お腹 — onaka — stomach
薬 — kusuri — medicine
病院 — byōin — hospital, clinic
受付 — uketsuke — reception
保険証 — hokenshō — insurance card
お願いします — onegai shimasu — please

Health vocabulary in Japanese does not have to be overwhelming. Start with the body part, add the symptom, and use a polite phrase or two to keep the conversation smooth. That combination is the real survival kit. Once you can say 頭が痛いです, 熱があります, and ゆっくりお願いします, you are already doing better than many nervous travelers with a full phrasebook and zero confidence.