At the doctor: how to describe symptoms and feel less helpless when you're sick in Japan

Falling ill in a country where you don't speak the language is one of the more frightening parts of living abroad. The hardest moment is often the simplest one: telling someone what's wrong. The good news is that describing symptoms in Japanese runs on one core sentence pattern plus a compact list of body and symptom words.

This is a language guide, not medical advice — for anything serious, see a doctor or pharmacist and follow their guidance. What we can do here is give you the words so you're not standing at a clinic counter unable to say where it hurts.

Almost all pain can be expressed with one frame: body part + が痛いです (~ ga itai desu — "my ~ hurts"). Master this and you can locate most problems:

頭が痛いです (atama ga itai desu — "I have a headache").

お腹が痛いです (onaka ga itai desu — "my stomach hurts").

喉が痛いです (nodo ga itai desu — "my throat hurts").

歯が痛いです (ha ga itai desu — "I have a toothache").

背中が痛いです (senaka ga itai desu — "my back hurts").

Useful body words to slot in: 頭 (atama, head), 喉 (nodo, throat), お腹 (onaka, stomach/belly), 胸 (mune, chest), 腰 (koshi, lower back), 足 (ashi, leg/foot), 手 (te, hand), 耳 (mimi, ear), 目 (me, eye). Just point and name the part — pointing plus 痛い (itai) communicates instantly even if the grammar slips.

Not everything is "pain." These high-frequency symptom words round out the picture. Most pair with あります (arimasu — "I have") or です:

熱があります (netsu ga arimasu — "I have a fever").

咳が出ます (seki ga demasu — "I have a cough").

鼻水が出ます (hanamizu ga demasu — "I have a runny nose").

吐き気がします (hakike ga shimasu — "I feel nauseous").

めまいがします (memai ga shimasu — "I feel dizzy").

体がだるいです (karada ga darui desu — "I feel sluggish / heavy").

下痢です (geri desu — "I have diarrhea").

気分が悪いです (kibun ga warui desu — "I feel unwell / sick") — a broad, useful catch-all when you can't pin it down.

Don't worry about precision under stress. A doctor can work with 熱があって、頭が痛いです ("I have a fever and a headache") — that's already a clear picture.

Doctors will want to know onset and duration. Two small pieces cover most of it:

〜から (~ kara — "since ~"): 昨日から (kinou kara — "since yesterday"), 三日前から (mikka mae kara — "since three days ago"), 朝から (asa kara — "since this morning").

ずっと (zutto — "the whole time / continuously"): 昨日からずっと頭が痛いです ("my head has been hurting since yesterday").

To describe the kind of pain, you may hear or want: ズキズキ (zukizuki — throbbing), チクチク (chikuchiku — prickling), キリキリ (kirikiri — sharp/stabbing). Even just 強い (tsuyoi — strong) vs 少し (sukoshi — a little) helps: 少し痛いです ("it hurts a little").

A clinic may ask アレルギーはありますか (arerugii wa arimasu ka — "do you have any allergies?") and お薬を飲んでいますか (okusuri o nonde imasu ka — "are you taking any medication?"). Knowing your own answers in advance — written down in Japanese if possible — removes a lot of on-the-spot pressure.

At reception: bring your 保険証 (hokenshou — insurance card) if you have Japanese health insurance. Useful lines: 初めてです (hajimete desu — "this is my first visit"); 予約していません (yoyaku shite imasen — "I don't have an appointment"); 英語が話せる先生はいますか (eigo ga hanaseru sensei wa imasu ka — "is there an English-speaking doctor?").

At the pharmacy (薬局, yakkyoku): Japanese clinics usually give you a prescription (処方箋, shohousen) to fill nearby. To ask a pharmacist for something over the counter: 風邪薬はありますか (kazegusuri wa arimasu ka — "do you have cold medicine?"); 頭痛の薬はありますか (zutsuu no kusuri wa arimasu ka — "do you have something for a headache?"). Always tell the pharmacist your symptoms and let them recommend — and read the dosage instructions or ask 一日何回飲みますか (ichinichi nankai nomimasu ka — "how many times a day do I take it?").

Emergencies: the ambulance and fire number is 119 (note: not 911). 救急車を呼んでください (kyuukyuusha o yonde kudasai — "please call an ambulance"); 助けてください (tasukete kudasai — "please help"). For non-urgent illness, many areas have a medical advice line — your city hall or hotel front desk can point you to it.

Once more, gently: this article gives you words, not diagnoses. When something feels serious, get to a professional — the phrases here are just there to help you reach one.