Ready to feel confident at a Japanese pharmacy? This short lesson helps you ask for the right medicine, check prescriptions, and confirm dosage. Keep it simple: listen, repeat, then speak aloud.
Level A2: Lesson 116 focuses on practical phrases you can use at a pharmacy: asking for medicine for a symptom, checking if a prescription is needed, asking about dosage and side effects, and whether medicines can be taken together. This CEFR-aligned set gives you ready-made questions and polite phrases to use with pharmacists.
After this lesson you'll be able to:
Ask for medicine for a symptom and say which symptom you have (e.g. 頭痛 zutsū).
Ask whether a prescription is needed and whether a medicine has side effects.
Ask how often and how many to take, and whether you can take medicines together (Level A2).
Ready? Let's go!
When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.
1. Reading + Listening Practice
Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.
___の薬が欲しいです。
___ no kusuri ga hoshii desu.
I need something for ___.
Meaning: I need something for ___.
When to use: Use this to tell the pharmacist what symptom you want medicine for — put a symptom like '頭痛' (headache) or 'せき' (cough) before の薬が欲しいです。
Tip: Don't use が instead of の between symptom and 薬; say 頭痛の薬, not 頭痛が薬.
頭痛の薬が欲しいです。
Zutsū no kusuri ga hoshii desu.
I need medicine for a headache.
せきの薬が欲しいです。
Seki no kusuri ga hoshii desu.
I need medicine for a cough.
___に効く薬はありますか。
___ ni kiku kusuri wa arimasu ka.
Do you have anything for ___?
Meaning: Do you have anything for ___?
When to use: Ask the pharmacist if they have a medicine that works for a specific symptom — put the symptom before に効く薬はありますか。
Tip: Remember to use the particle に (not を) after the symptom when using 効く.
花粉症に効く薬はありますか。
Kafunshō ni kiku kusuri wa arimasu ka.
Do you have anything for hay fever?
せきに効く薬はありますか。
Seki ni kiku kusuri wa arimasu ka.
Do you have anything for a cough?
___があります。
___ ga arimasu.
I have a ___.
Meaning: I have a ___.
When to use: Say this simply to describe a symptom: insert words like せき or 熱 before があります。
熱があります
Netsu ga arimasu.
I have a fever.
せきがあります。
Seki ga arimasu.
I have a cough.
処方せんが必要ですか。
Shohōsen ga hitsuyō desu ka.
Do I need a prescription?
Meaning: Do I need a prescription?
When to use: Use this to ask whether the medicine requires a prescription (処方せん) before buying.
この薬は処方せんが必要ですか。
Kono kusuri wa shohōsen ga hitsuyō desu ka.
Does this medicine need a prescription?
頭痛の薬は処方せんが必要ですか。
Zutsū no kusuri wa shohōsen ga hitsuyō desu ka.
Does headache medicine require a prescription?
1日に何回飲めばいいですか。
Ichinichi ni nankai nomeba ii desu ka.
How often should I take it?
Meaning: How often should I take it?
When to use: Ask this when you need to know how many times per day to take an oral medicine: 1日に何回飲めばいいですか。
この薬は1日に何回飲めばいいですか。
Kono kusuri wa ichinichi ni nankai nomeba ii desu ka.
How many times a day should I take this medicine?
子どもは1日に何回飲めばいいですか。
Kodomo wa ichinichi ni nankai nomeba ii desu ka.
How often should a child take it per day?
1回に何錠飲めばいいですか。
Ikkai ni nanjō nomeba ii desu ka.
How many should I take?
Meaning: How many should I take?
When to use: Ask this to find out the number of tablets or pills per dose: 1回に何錠飲めばいいですか。
1回に何錠飲めばいいですか。
Ikkai ni nanjō nomeba ii desu ka.
How many tablets should I take at one time?
大人は1回に何錠飲めばいいですか。
Otona wa ikkai ni nanjō nomeba ii desu ka.
How many tablets should an adult take per dose?
食事と一緒に飲んだほうがいいですか。
Shokuji to issho ni nonda hō ga ii desu ka.
Should I take it with food?
Meaning: Should I take it with food?
When to use: Use this to ask whether to take the medicine with meals or after eating: 食事と一緒に飲んだほうがいいですか。
この薬は食事と一緒に飲んだほうがいいですか。
Kono kusuri wa shokuji to issho ni nonda hō ga ii desu ka.
Should I take this medicine with food?
朝ごはんの後に飲んだほうがいいですか。
Asa gohan no ato ni nonda hō ga ii desu ka.
Should I take it after breakfast?
副作用はありますか。
Fukusayō wa arimasu ka.
Are there any side effects?
Meaning: Are there any side effects?
When to use: Ask this to check whether the medicine may cause side effects: 副作用はありますか。
この薬の副作用はありますか。
Kono kusuri no fukusayō wa arimasu ka.
Does this medicine have side effects?
副作用はどのくらいありますか。
Fukusayō wa dono kurai arimasu ka.
How common are the side effects?
これは___と一緒に飲んでもいいですか。
Kore wa ___ to issho ni nondemo ii desu ka.
Can I take this with ___?
Meaning: Can I take this with ___?
When to use: Ask this when you want to know if two medicines or a medicine and supplement are safe together: これは___と一緒に飲んでもいいですか。
これは他の薬と一緒に飲んでもいいですか。
Kore wa hoka no kusuri to issho ni nondemo ii desu ka.
Can I take this with my other medicine?
これはサプリメントと一緒に飲んでもいいですか。
Kore wa sapurimento to issho ni nondemo ii desu ka.
Can I take this together with a supplement?
これは処方せんなしで買えますか？
Kore wa shohōsen nashi de kaemasu ka?
Is this available without a prescription?
Meaning: Is this available without a prescription?
When to use: Use this to check whether you can buy a medicine over the counter without a prescription: これは処方せんなしで買えますか？
この薬は処方せんなしで買えますか？
Kono kusuri wa shohōsen nashi de kaemasu ka?
Can I buy this without a prescription?
処方せんなしで買えるものはありますか？
Shohōsen nashi de kaeru mono wa arimasu ka?
Are there items I can buy without a prescription?
ジェネリックはありますか？
Jenerikku wa arimasu ka?
Is there a generic version?
Meaning: Is there a generic version?
When to use: Ask this to check for a cheaper generic alternative: ジェネリックはありますか？
この薬のジェネリックはありますか？
Kono kusuri no jenerikku wa arimasu ka?
Is there a generic for this medicine?
ジェネリックにしてもらえますか？
Jenerikku ni shite moraemasu ka?
Could you give me the generic version?
毎日___を飲んでいます。
Mainichi ___ o nonde imasu.
I take ___ every day.
Meaning: I take ___ every day.
When to use: Tell the pharmacist about regular medicines you already take: 毎日___を飲んでいます。
Tip: Use を with the medicine name when saying you take it every day (毎日___を飲んでいます).
毎日血圧の薬を飲んでいます。
Mainichi ketsuatsu no kusuri o nonde imasu.
I take blood pressure medicine every day.
毎日ビタミンを飲んでいます。
Mainichi bitamin o nonde imasu.
I take vitamins every day.
これは___が使っても大丈夫ですか？
Kore wa ___ ga tsukattemo daijōbu desu ka?
Is this safe for ___?
Meaning: Is this safe for ___?
When to use: Ask whether a medicine is safe for a person or group: insert 子どもが, 妊婦が, etc. before が使っても大丈夫ですか。
これは子どもが使っても大丈夫ですか？
Kore wa kodomo ga tsukattemo daijōbu desu ka?
Is this OK for children to use?
これは妊婦が使っても大丈夫ですか？
Kore wa ninpu ga tsukattemo daijōbu desu ka?
Is this safe for pregnant people?
2. Conversational Listening Practice
Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.
At a neighborhood pharmacy, a customer asks about headache medicine and whether a prescription or side effects are a concern.
What does Anna ask for?
Anna
頭痛の薬が欲しいです。
Zutsū no kusuri ga hoshii desu.
I need medicine for a headache.
David
処方せんが必要ですか。
Shohōsen ga hitsuyō desu ka.
Do you need a prescription?
Anna
処方せんなしで買えますか？
Kore wa shohōsen nashi de kaemasu ka?
Can I buy this without a prescription?
David
はい。副作用はありますか？
Hai. Fukusayō wa arimasu ka?
Yes. Are there any side effects?
Anna
毎日高血圧の薬を飲んでいます。これと一緒に飲んでもいいですか？
Mainichi ketsuatsu no kusuri o nonde imasu. Kore to issho ni nondemo ii desu ka?
I take blood pressure medicine every day. Can I take this together with it?
David
少し待ってください。調べます。
Sukoshi matte kudasai. Shirabemasu.
Please wait a moment. I'll check.
3. Guided Practice
Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.
Which sentence means 'Do I need a prescription?'
How do you ask 'Are there any side effects?' in Japanese?
Which phrase asks 'How many tablets should I take at one time?'
Choose the Japanese sentence that asks for a cheaper, non-brand option.
Before buying medicine at the pharmacy, you ask the staff, 'Do I need a prescription?'
薬局で薬を買う前に、店員に『___』と聞きます。
Yakkyoku de kusuri o kau mae ni, ten'in ni '___' to kikimasu.
Because I didn't know the dosage, I asked the pharmacist, 'How many tablets should I take at one time?'
飲み方がわからないので、薬剤師に『___』と聞きました。
Nomikata ga wakaranai node, yakuzai-shi ni '___' to kikimashita.
When receiving a new medicine, if you're worried about side effects, ask, 'Are there any side effects?'
新しい薬をもらうときに、副作用が心配なら『___』と聞いてください。
Atarashii kusuri o morau toki ni, fukusayō ga shinpai nara '___' to kiite kudasai.
Match the core phrases
Match the extra phrases
4. Speaking Practice
Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).
Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.
