Talking About Feeling Sick in Chinese: Body Parts & Symptoms Dialogue 🤒

It’s never fun to feel sick, but it’s even worse when you can’t explain what’s wrong in a foreign language. This lesson will help you master the essential Chinese vocabulary for talking about sickness. You’ll learn how to say you feel unwell, describe where it hurts, and understand common questions about your health through a simple conversation.

💬 Video Transcript

王伟: 李娜，你好！
(Wáng Wěi: Li Na, hello!)

李娜: 王伟，你好。
(Lǐ Nà: Wang Wei, hello.)

王伟: 你好吗？你看起来不舒服。
(Wáng Wěi: How are you? You look unwell.)

李娜: 我不好。我很不舒服。
(Lǐ Nà: I am not well. I am very uncomfortable.)

王伟: 啊？你怎么了？你哪里不舒服？
(Wáng Wěi: Oh? What’s wrong with you? Where are you uncomfortable?)

李娜: 我的头疼。
(Lǐ Nà: My head hurts.)

王伟: 你的头疼？
(Wáng Wěi: Your head hurts?)

李娜: 是的，我的头很疼。
(Lǐ Nà: Yes, my head hurts a lot.)

王伟: 你的眼睛呢？你的眼睛疼吗？
(Wáng Wěi: What about your eyes? Do your eyes hurt?)

李娜: 我的眼睛也疼。
(Lǐ Nà: My eyes also hurt.)

王伟: 你的头疼，你的眼睛也疼。
(Wáng Wěi: Your head hurts, and your eyes hurt too.)

李娜: 对。我的头和眼睛都很疼。
(Lǐ Nà: Right. My head and eyes both hurt a lot.)

王伟: 你的鼻子呢？你的鼻子疼吗？
(Wáng Wěi: What about your nose? Does your nose hurt?)

李娜: 我的鼻子不疼。我的鼻子很好。
(Lǐ Nà: My nose doesn’t hurt. My nose is fine.)

王伟: 好的。那你的嘴巴呢？嘴巴疼吗？
(Wáng Wěi: Okay. And your mouth? Does your mouth hurt?)

李娜: 我的嘴巴不疼。嘴巴也很好。
(Lǐ Nà: My mouth doesn’t hurt. My mouth is also fine.)

王伟: 你的耳朵呢？耳朵疼吗？
(Wáng Wěi: What about your ears? Do your ears hurt?)

李娜: 我的耳朵不疼。
(Lǐ Nà: My ears don’t hurt.)

王伟: 好的。所以你的头疼，眼睛疼。但是你的鼻子、嘴巴和耳朵都不疼。
(Wáng Wěi: Okay. So your head hurts, your eyes hurt. But your nose, mouth, and ears don’t hurt.)

李娜: 是的，你说得对。
(Lǐ Nà: Yes, you are right.)

王伟: 你的手呢？你的手疼吗？
(Wáng Wěi: What about your hands? Do your hands hurt?)

李娜: 我的手不疼。你看，我的手很好。
(Lǐ Nà: My hands don’t hurt. Look, my hands are fine.)

王伟: 你的脚呢？你的脚疼吗？
(Wáng Wěi: What about your feet? Do your feet hurt?)

李娜: 我的脚也不疼。我的脚很好。
(Lǐ Nà: My feet don’t hurt either. My feet are fine.)

王伟: 好的。你的手和脚都不疼。
(Wáng Wěi: Okay. Your hands and feet don’t hurt.)

李娜: 对，我的手和脚都很好。
(Lǐ Nà: Right, my hands and feet are both fine.)

王伟: 只有你的头和眼睛疼。
(Wáng Wěi: Only your head and eyes hurt.)

李娜: 是的，我的头和眼睛非常不舒服。
(Lǐ Nà: Yes, my head and eyes are very uncomfortable.)

王伟: 你需要回家。你需要休息。
(Wáng Wěi: You need to go home. You need to rest.)

李娜: 是的，我想回家休息。
(Lǐ Nà: Yes, I want to go home and rest.)

王伟: 我和你一起回家吧。
(Wáng Wěi: Let me go home with you.)

李娜: 谢谢你，王伟。你真好。
(Lǐ Nà: Thank you, Wang Wei. You are so kind.)

📝 Essential Vocabulary

Here are some of the key words and phrases from the video. Listen and practice the pronunciation.

🔍 Grammar Focus

Let’s break down two key grammar patterns from the conversation.

1. Describing Pain: [Body Part] + 疼 (téng)

The most direct way to say something hurts in Chinese is to use the word 疼 (téng), which means “to ache” or “painful”. The structure is very simple:

[Body Part] + 疼 (téng)

In the dialogue, Li Na uses this pattern multiple times to describe her symptoms:

• 我的头疼。 (Wǒ de tóu téng.) - My head hurts.
• 我的眼睛也疼。 (Wǒ de yǎnjīng yě téng.) - My eyes also hurt.

To ask if a body part hurts, you simply add the question particle 吗 (ma) at the end:

• 你的眼睛疼吗？ (Nǐ de yǎnjīng téng ma?) - Do your eyes hurt?

2. Using 也 (yě) for “Also” or “Too”

The word 也 (yě) is the Chinese equivalent of “also” or “too”. It’s used to indicate that a situation or action is similar to a previous one. A key rule is that 也 (yě) always comes before the verb or adjective it modifies.

Notice how Li Na uses it after establishing that her head hurts:

• 王伟: 你的眼睛呢？ (Nǐ de yǎnjīng ne?) - What about your eyes?
• 李娜: 我的眼睛也疼。 (Wǒ de yǎnjīng yě téng.) - My eyes also hurt.

The structure is: Subject + 也 + Verb/Adjective. You wouldn’t say “我的眼睛疼也” — 也 must precede 疼.

🌍 Cultural Tip

🃏 Flip & Learn

Use these flashcards to test your memory of key phrases from the lesson.

💡 Key Takeaways

Here are the most important points to remember from this lesson:

• To say you’re not feeling well, use 我不舒服 (wǒ bù shūfu).
• To ask someone what’s wrong, you can say 你怎么了？ (nǐ zěnme le?). To be more specific about their health, ask 你哪里不舒服？ (nǐ nǎlǐ bù shūfu?).
• The basic pattern for expressing pain is [Body Part] + 疼 (téng), for example, 头疼 (tóu téng) for a headache.
• Use 也 (yě) before a verb or adjective to mean “also” or “too,” as in 我的眼睛也疼 (wǒ de yǎnjīng yě téng).
• A kind and useful phrase for a sick friend is 你需要休息 (nǐ xūyào xiūxi), which means “You need to rest.”

🎯 Practice Quiz

Test your understanding with a few questions based on the dialogue.

✍️ Fill in the Blanks

Let’s test your spelling and memory! Fill in the missing words below. Use correct spelling.