Health Problem Expressions in Japanese

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Updated on November 04, 2019

Here are some expressions to describe physical conditions in Japanese. Pain is usually described using the adjective "itai (painful, sore)".

atama ga itai 頭が痛い	to have a headache
ha ga itai 歯が痛い	to have a toothache
nodo ga itai のどが痛い	to have a sore throat
onaka ga itai おなかが痛い	to have a stomachache
seki ga deru せきがでる	to have a cough
hana ga deru 鼻がでる	to have a runny nose
netsu ga aru 熱がある	to have a fever
samuke ga suru 寒気がする	to have a chill
karada ga darui 体がだるい	to feel a lack of energy
shokuyoku ga nai 食欲がない	to have no appetite
memai ga suru めまいがする	to feel dizzy
kaze o hiku 風邪をひく	to catch a cold

You should also learn the vocabulary of body parts.

When describing your conditions to a doctor, "~n desu" is often added at the end of the sentence. It has an explanatory function. To express "I have a cold," "kaze o hikimashita （風邪をひきました）" or "kaze o hiiteimasu （風邪をひいています）" is used.

Atama ga itai n desu. 頭が痛いんです｡	I have a headache.
Netsu ga aru n desu. 熱があるんです｡	I have a fever.

Here is how to express degrees of pain.

totemo itai とても痛い	very painful
sukoshi itai 少し痛い	a little bit painful

Onomatopoeic expressions are also used to express degrees of pain. "Gan gan （がんがん）" or "zuki zuki （ずきずき）" is used to describe headaches. "Zuki zuki （ずきずき）" or "shiku shiku （しくしく）" is used for toothaches and "kiri kiri （きりきり）" or "shiku shiku （しくしく）" for stomachaches.

gan gan がんがん	pounding headache
zuki zuki ずきずき	throbbing pain
shiku shiku しくしく	dull pain
kiri kiri きりきり	sharp continuous pain
hiri hiri ひりひり	burning pain
chiku chiku ちくちく	prickly pain

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Abe, Namiko. "Health Problem Expressions in Japanese." ThoughtCo, Feb. 16, 2021, thoughtco.com/physical-health-problems-in-japanese-4077303. Abe, Namiko. (2021, February 16). Health Problem Expressions in Japanese. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/physical-health-problems-in-japanese-4077303 Abe, Namiko. "Health Problem Expressions in Japanese." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/physical-health-problems-in-japanese-4077303 (accessed March 29, 2023).