Chinese for seeing a doctor

Seeing the doctor is probably your biggest worry when you travel or even live in China. Because the medical system in China is so different from that in the West, you often need to read or fill out forms in Chinese, communicate with staff and explain your symptoms! This can be confusing and even stressful!

Although there are also English-speaking clinics in China, they are several times more expensive than the normal Chinese hospital and harder to find than your nearest Chinese clinic.

So when you go to a Chinese clinic or hospital, it's good to have some basic knowledge of the language.

Views the above Youtube that told you the procedure to see the Chinese doctor, and the process:

Materials preparation

Make sure you have the stuff you need to see a doctor, such as your passport, Health Insurance Card, If you are working in China and enroll in the Chinese social insurance system. It will be much cheaper to use a Health Insurance Card. The Chinese government will reimburse you 60 to 90 percent of your medical expenses.

护照: (hù zhào) - passport

医保卡: (yī bǎo kǎ) - Health Insurance Card

1, Register (挂号, ɡuà hào)

Just arrived at the hospital, you can consult where to go to Register in the Service Desk, the service desk is generally just entered the hall.

When you find the Registration Office, you can describe your condition, the service staff will arrange the corresponding department for you, and will also assign you the right doctor.

Here, you need to pay the Registration Fee. It is just the Consultation fee; the hospital will pay part of the fee to the doctor. Generally, the Registration Fee cost lower than 20 RMB and depends on the level of the doctor and the outpatient department you go to.

Here, you need to buy a Medical Record (0.5 RMB) or Medical Card (10 RMB), the doctor will record your condition, test, medical prescription, and so on, on the medical card. Most hospitals in China now use electronic Medical Card. Late, when you pick up your medicine, you need to provide the Medical Card to the person who takes medication.

Besides, in China, you only need to wait a few hours to see the doctor for a general condition. If there are no other patients in front of you, you can see the doctor immediately, get the treatment plan and get the medicine.

For a specific condition, you need to go to a particular hospital. Maybe all the patients in China are queuing in this hospital, so it is a little difficult to register. It may take some weeks to see the doctor. General illness, do not go to such a hospital, go to the small hospital nearby you so that you can get treatment on the same day.

服务台：(fú wù tái) - Service desk, Information desk

挂号: (ɡuà hào) - register

挂号处: (ɡuà hào chù) - Registratin office

挂号费: (ɡuà hào fèi) - Registratin fee

病历: (bìnɡ lì) - Medical record, paper

医疗卡: (yī liáo kǎ) - Medical card, electronic

2, See a doctor (就诊, jiù zhěn)

When you register, the nurse will inform you which outpatient department to go to see a doctor if you don't know where to ask the nurse at the registration office or go to the information desk. Thus, you should consult the relevant doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

Describe your symptoms:

我不舒服。 (Wǒ bù shū fu.) - I don’t feel well. It is more frequently used in spoken Chinese.

You can also, add adverbs of the degree to modify your condition.

我有点不舒服。(Wǒ yóu diǎn bù shū fu.) - I don't feel very well

我很不舒服。(Wǒ hěn bù shū fu.) - I feel very uncomfortable.

我非常不舒服。(Wǒ fēi chánɡ bù shū fu.) - I feel very uncomfortable.

不舒服, means you feel uncomfortable, but not necessarily sick. If you know sure you are sick, you can also, say:

我病了。(Wǒ bìng le.) - I’m sick

我病得很严重 (Wǒ bìng de hěn yán zhòng) - I’m really sick (severely).

You can also, use sentences to describe your specific illness.

这里很痛。(Zhè lǐ hěn tòng) - Here (on the body) is very painful. If you don't know how to say the body in Chinese, you can just use 这里.

or you can say, 

我不知道用中文怎么解释症状。 (Wǒ bù zhī dào yòng zhōng wén zěn me jiě shì zhèng zhuàng) – I’m not too sure how to explain my symptoms in Chinese.

这里有会讲英文的医生吗？ (Zhè lǐ yǒu huì jiǎng yīng wén de yī sheng ma) - Are there any doctors here that can speak English?

Some regular sentence and words:

general state

我发烧了。(Wǒ fā shāo le.) - I have a fever.

我发高烧。(Wǒ fā gāo shāo.) - I have a high fever.

我流鼻涕。(Wǒ liú bí tì.) - I have a runny nose.

我打喷嚏。(Wǒ dǎ pēn tì.) - I am sneezing.

我咳嗽。(Wǒ ké sou.) - I have a cough.

我嗓子疼。(Wǒ sǎng zi téng.) - I have a sore throat.

我肚子疼。(Wǒ dù zi téng.) - I have a stomach ache.

我拉肚子。 (Wǒ lā dù zi.) - I have diarrhea.

我耳朵疼。(Wǒ ěr duo téng.) - I have an earache.

我头疼。(Wǒ tóu téng.) - I have a headache.

我头晕。 (Wǒ tóu yūn.) - I’m dizzy.

我腰疼。 (Wǒ yāo téng.) - My back hurts.

我胸疼。 (Wǒ xiōng téng.) - I have chest pain.

我发冷。 (Wǒ fā lěng.) - I have the chills.

我感觉恶心。 (Wǒ gǎn jué ě xīn.) - I feel nauseous.

我的皮肤很红。 (Wǒ de pí fū hěn hóng.) - My skin is red.

我的皮肤很痒。 (Wǒ de pí fū hěn yǎng.) - My skin is itchy.

我的眼睛很痒。 (Wǒ de yǎn jing hěn yǎng.) - My eye(s) are itchy.

我对（青霉素）过敏。(Wǒ duì (qīng méi sù) guò mǐn.) - I am allergic to (penicillin).

我晕针。 (Wǒ yūn zhēn.) - I’m afraid of needles. / I faint with needles.

past state

我吐了。 (Wǒ tǔ le.) - I threw up.

我吐血了。 (Wǒ tù xiě le.) - I threw up blood.

我流鼻血了。 (Wǒ liú bí xiě le.) - My nose is bleeding. / I have a nosebleed.

我怀孕了。 (Wǒ huái yùn le) - I’m pregnant.

我腿断了。(Wǒ tuǐ duàn le)  - My leg is broken.

我骨头断了。(Wǒ gǔ tou duàn le) - I have a broken bone.

persistent state

我一直头疼。(Wǒ yì zhí tóu ténɡ.) - I've been having headaches.

我一直咳嗽。 (Wǒ yì zhí ké sou.) - I keep coughing.

我总是咳嗽。(Wǒ zǒnɡ shì ké sou.) - I always cough.

我头疼了三天了。(Wǒ tóu ténɡ le sān tiān le.) - I've had a headache for three days. (now still)

recent status

我最近很爱出汗的。(Wǒ zuì jìn hěn ài chū hàn.) - I have the sweats.

我最近刚生完孩子，还在喂奶。 (Wǒ zuì jìn gāng shēng wán hái zi, hái zài wèi nǎi.) - I’ve recently given birth, and am still breastfeeding.

我最近每天都拉肚子。 (Wǒ zuì jìn měi tiān dōu lā dù zi.) - Recently I’ve had diarrhea every single day.

我最近一直感觉恶心，想吐。(Wǒ zuì jìn yì zhí gǎn jué ě xin, xiǎng tù.) - Lately I’m always feeling nauseous, like I want to throw up.

thinking status, not sure

我觉得我有腿可能骨折了 (Wǒ jué dé wǒ yǒu tuǐ kě néng gǔ zhé le.) - I feel like I broke/fractured my leg.

我想我怀孕了。(Wǒ xiǎng wǒ huái yùn le.) - I think I’m pregnant.

我好像是食物中毒了。 (Wǒ hǎo xiàng shì shí wù zhòng dú le.) - It seems I have food poisoning.

我可能发生了过敏反应 (Wǒ kě néng fā shēng le guò mǐn fǎn yìng.) - I might be having an allergic reaction.

adjoint state 伴随状态

我吃饭的时候，牙齿很痛。 (Wǒ chī fàn de shí hou, yá chǐ hěn tòng.) - When I eat, my tooth (teeth) hurt(s).

我跑步的时候，膝盖很痛。 (Wǒ pǎo bù de shí hou, xī gài hěn tòng.) - When I run, my knee(s) hurt(s).

3, Pay the fees (缴费, jiǎo fèi)

The doctor will prescribe medicine for you after seeing you. Record the medication you need to take on your medical card. At this time, you bring the medical card to the Charge office to pay.

缴费: (jiǎo fèi) - Payout

收费站: (shōu fèi zhàn) - Charge office

多少钱？ (Duō shǎo qián?) - How much does it cost?

只收现金。 (Zhǐ shōu xiàn jīn.)  - Cash only.

可以刷卡吗？ (Ké yǐ shuā kǎ ma?)  Can I pay by credit card?

可以用微信、支付宝吗？ (Ké yǐ yònɡ wēi xìn, zhī fù bǎo ma?) - Can you use WeChat or Alipay?

4, Test (化验, huà yàn)

If so, the doctor needs some tests to confirm the cause of your illness. The doctor may give you a laboratory test, after paying the fee, you go to the laboratory test station, the location of each test station is not the same, such as blood test station, electrocardiogram test station.

Some tests have to wait half an hour or get results immediately. According to the items of testing and time is not the same.

Get the results and see the doctor directly again.

化验 (huà yàn) - test/assay

化验单 (huà yàn dān) - test receipt

化验结果 (huà yàn jié ɡuǒ) - test result

抽血 (chōu xuè) - draw blood

阳性 (yánɡ xìnɡ) - Positive (means that whatever the test was looking for was found)

阴性 (yīn xìnɡ) - Negative (means that whatever the test was looking for was not found)

5, See the doctor again with the test result

According to the test results, the doctor will give you a specific treatment plan and prescribe medicine.

6,  Pay the fees (缴费, jiǎo fèi)

The step is the same as step 3.

7, Take the medicine (取药, qǔ yào)

After payment, you will take your receipt and medical card to the pharmacy to get your medicine. The nurse will tell you how to take the medicine, how many times a day, how much, etc. If you are not sure of the dosage, you may consult the doctor again, who has just seen you. If it's all right, you can level now.

取药 (qǔ yào) - take medicine

药房 (yào fánɡ) - the pharmacy

吃药的方法 (chī yào de fānɡ fǎ)

每天吃三粒 (měi tiān chī sān lì) - eat three tablets every day

每天吃三次 (měi tiān chī sān cì) - eat three times a day

饭前一小时吃 (fàn qián yì xiǎo shí chī) - take the medicine an hour before meals

饭后一小时吃 (fàn hòu yì xiǎo shí chī) - take the medicine an hour after meals

隔十二小时吃一粒 (ɡé shí èr xiǎo shí chī yí lì) - take a pill of every 12 hours

治疗期间不要喝酒 (zhì liáo qī jiān bú yào hē jiǔ) - do not drink alcohol during treatment

8, Recheck (复查, fù chá) and others

Generally, at the time of treatment, the doctor will tell you whether you need to come for a recheck.

If you need to recheck, you come to the hospital according to the time that the doctor arranges, the following flow is the same, also be to register - see a doctor - pay fee - test - see a result again - pay - take medicine.

Sometimes, your condition does not need to test, and this process is simple: register - see a doctor - pay - take medicine.

Of course, this is only the description of the procedures under normal circumstances; you may also encounter hospitalization and other particular conditions, not described here.

Good luck and stay strong

That’s the precess seeing a doctor in China, whether you are studying abroad, traveling with your family, working, or traveling in China for other purposes, we hope this guide will be helpful during your stay!

With the above procedure and some sentences and vocabulary, you should be able to express most of the problems you encounter.

refer to: talk about Coronavirus in Chinese