Talking to a Doctor in Japanese: Symptoms, the 〜が痛い Pattern, and Pharmacy Phrases

Talking to a doctor in Japanese at N4 comes down to a small set of reusable patterns: 〜が痛いです for pain, 熱があります for a fever, and よく〜することがあります for a problem that keeps coming back.¹² This guide separates what you say to staff from what the doctor and pharmacist say back to you. That way, you can describe a symptom and recognize the questions and instructions that follow. Read the safety note first.

Before You Read: A Language Guide, Not Medical Advice

This article teaches Japanese phrases for a clinic or pharmacy. It is not medical advice, and learning the vocabulary for a symptom is not the same as diagnosing it.

This teaches phrases, not diagnosis

In a real emergency in Japan, dial 119 for an ambulance (救急車) or fire engine (消防車).³ For police, dial 110.⁴ Serious or worsening symptoms need a medical professional, not a phrasebook, so do not self-diagnose from vocabulary.

Overview: The Clinic Conversation at a Glance

With medical staff, use the polite です/ます register by default. This article assumes that register at JLPT N4.²

Address and refer to the doctor as 先生 (sensei). The plain noun for "doctor" is 医者 (isha), but 先生 is the term you use in the room.

A typical visit runs through a fixed set of stages. You can follow the same arc whether you are at a large 病院 (hospital) or a small クリニック (clinic).

At 受付 (reception), you present your insurance verification.⁵ After 診察 (the examination), the doctor may issue a 処方箋 (prescription). You then take it to a 薬局 (pharmacy) to have it filled.⁶

The casual plain-form register appears only when you describe symptoms to a friend, never to staff. It shows up briefly near the end.²

Symptom and Body-Part Vocabulary You Need

The patterns below all use a small set of body parts and symptoms. Learn the nouns first, then the frame each one takes.

Body parts pair with the 〜が痛いです frame: the part that hurts is the subject.

Japanese	Reading	English
頭	あたま	head
お腹	おなか	stomach / belly
喉	のど	throat
歯	は	tooth
背中	せなか	back
胸	むね	chest

These body-part nouns and the 〜が痛いです frame are introduced together in Genki II Lesson 12, "Feeling Ill."² 痛い is an い-adjective.⁷

Core symptoms use a few different frames. The last column shows which frame each one takes, so you can choose the right verb without guessing.

Japanese	Reading	English	Frame it uses
熱	ねつ	fever	熱があります2
咳	せき	cough	咳が出ます2
鼻水	はなみず	runny nose	鼻水が出ます2
吐き気	はきけ	nausea	吐き気がします8
めまい	めまい	dizziness	めまいがします8
寒気	さむけ	chills	寒気がします8
下痢	げり	diarrhea	下痢をしています2
だるい	だるい	sluggish	体がだるいです2
症状	しょうじょう	symptom(s)	(cover term)

Sensation nouns such as 吐き気, めまい, and 寒気 take the 〜がします frame. Here, する means "to be sensed."⁸ 体がだるいです describes a general run-down, heavy feeling; だるい is an い-adjective.⁷

What You Say: Describing Your Own Symptoms

This is the half you produce. Four frames cover most of what a doctor needs to hear: pain, existence, sensation, and onset.

The 〜が痛い Pattern: How to Say "It Hurts"

痛い is an い-adjective, and the part that hurts is its grammatical subject.⁷ A stative adjective of sensation marks its subject with が, not は or を.¹ So put が after the body part: 頭が痛いです, のどが痛いです.

The polite clinic form is 〜が痛いです. With a friend, use the plain form 〜が痛い.²

頭あたまが痛いたいです。²
"I have a headache." / "My head hurts."

喉のどが痛いたいです。²
"My throat hurts." / "I have a sore throat."

お腹なかが痛いたいです。²
"My stomach hurts."

When you cannot name the body part, point and say "here." ここ ("here") is the subject, so the same が-frame works with no extra vocabulary.

ここが痛いたいです。¹²
"It hurts here."

Other "I Have / I Feel" Frames: 熱があります, 〜がします

Pain is not the only kind of complaint. Three more frames cover the rest.

A fever uses the existence verb ある: 熱があります literally says "there is a fever."²

熱ねつがあります。²
"I have a fever."

Sensations use 〜がします. In this frame, する means "to be sensed."⁸ Use it for nausea, dizziness, and chills.

吐はき気けがします。⁸
"I feel nauseous."

めまいがします。⁸
"I feel dizzy."

A cough or a runny nose uses 出る ("to come out"): 咳が出ます, 鼻水が出ます.²

咳せきが出でます。²
"I have a cough." / "I keep coughing."

A general run-down feeling uses the adjective だるい.²

体からだがだるいです。²
"I feel run-down all over."

Four frames, sorted by symptom type

Match the symptom to its frame and the rest follows: pain takes 〜が痛い, a fever takes 〜があります, a sensation takes 〜がします, and something coming out (cough, runny nose) takes 〜が出ます.¹²⁸

Saying When It Started: 〜日前から, 昨日から

から marks the starting point in time, "since" or "from."¹ 〜日前から means "since N days ago": 三日前から is "since three days ago." 昨日から is "since yesterday," and 今朝から is "since this morning."

Put it before any symptom frame.

三日前みっかまえから熱ねつがあります。¹²
"I've had a fever since three days ago."

昨日きのうから頭あたまが痛いたいです。¹²
"My head has hurt since yesterday."

今朝けさからお腹なかが痛いたいです。¹²
"My stomach has hurt since this morning."

Reporting a Recurring Problem: よく〜することがあります

Some problems are not happening right now, but they happen often enough to mention. Use よく (often) plus a dictionary-form verb plus ことがあります.⁹

With a non-past, dictionary-form predicate, ことがある means "there are times when" or "it sometimes happens that." It reports an occasional or recurring pattern. It does not describe a single past event.⁹

よくめまいがすることがあります。⁹⁸
"I often get dizzy spells."

Because ことがある here takes a verb, an い-adjective like 痛い must first become the verb 痛くなる ("become painful"). Then it can attach.⁹⁷

よく頭あたまが痛いたくなることがあります。⁹⁷
"I often get headaches."

よくお腹なかが痛いたくなることがあります。⁹⁷
"I often get stomachaches."

Non-past ことがある is not past-experience ことがある

よく〜することがあります with a dictionary-form verb means "there are times when I..." (a recurring pattern). The た-form version, 〜たことがあります, means "I have done X before" (a past experience). At the clinic you want the recurring sense, so keep the verb in its dictionary form.⁹

What the Doctor Says: Questions to Recognize

Here you mostly listen and answer. You do not need to ask these questions yourself. You only need to recognize them and reply with a frame from the previous section.

Opening Questions: どうしましたか / 今日はどうされましたか

どうしましたか means "What's wrong?" or "What happened?" It is the standard opener. 今日はどうされましたか is a more polite (尊敬語, honorific language) variant a doctor may use.

Answer by leading with your main symptom.

どうしましたか。²
"What's the matter?"

Your reply leads with the symptom and onset.

昨日きのうから喉のどが痛いたいです。¹²
"My throat has hurt since yesterday."

Follow-Ups: いつからですか, 熱はありますか, アレルギーはありますか

いつからですか means "Since when?" Answer with 〜日前から or 昨日から.¹

いつからですか。¹
"Since when?"

Your reply names the start point.

三日前みっかまえからです。¹
"Since three days ago."

Symptom checks such as 熱はありますか ("Do you have a fever?") use は to topicalize, or mark as the topic, the item being checked. Answer はい、あります or いいえ、ありません.¹²

熱ねつはありますか。²
"Do you have a fever?"

The doctor also asks about history. アレルギーはありますか asks about allergies; 薬を飲んでいますか asks whether you are taking any medication.¹⁰

アレルギーはありますか。²
"Do you have any allergies?"

At the Pharmacy: Prescription and Medication Phrases

The visit often ends at a separate pharmacy. The doctor prescribes the medicine, and the pharmacist dispenses it. This division is known as 医薬分業.⁶

Handing Over the 処方箋 and What You Hear

The doctor issues a 処方箋 (prescription), the document that lists the medicine, the amount, and how to take it.⁶ You carry it to a 薬局 (pharmacy), where a 薬剤師 (pharmacist) checks and fills it.⁶

You only need a short phrase here. As you hand over the prescription, say お願いします.

お願ねがいします。⁶
"Here you are, please."

Dosage Instructions to Recognize: 食後・食前に飲んでください

The instructions come back as the 〜てください request form, here 〜に飲んでください ("take it at..."). 食後に飲んでください means "take after meals." 食後 means within about 20 to 30 minutes after eating.¹¹

食後しょくごに飲のんでください。¹¹
"Take this after meals."

食前に is "before meals," about 20 to 30 minutes before eating.¹¹

食前しょくぜんに飲のんでください。¹¹
"Take this before meals."

Frequency uses 一日〜回, and tablets are counted with 〜錠.¹¹

一日いちにち三回さんかい飲のんでください。¹¹
"Take it three times a day."

一日いちにち三錠さんじょうです。¹¹
"Three tablets a day."

The verb in all of these is 飲む. For medicine, it means "take." It covers pills and powders, not only liquids.¹⁰

As you leave, the doctor or pharmacist usually closes with お大事に, a set phrase of concern for your health.¹² You do not need to say more than ありがとうございます.

お大事だいじに。¹²
"Take care of yourself." / "Get well soon."

Insurance and Reception: The 保険証

At 受付 (reception), you present your insurance verification so the clinic can confirm your coverage. This confirmation is required at every visit.⁵ Colloquially, this is still called the 保険証, under Japan's public health-insurance system (健康保険 / 国民健康保険).

The verification itself can take more than one form. It may be a マイナ保険証 (the My Number Card registered for insurance use) or a 資格確認書 for those without one. The standalone paper 健康保険証 was discontinued for new issuance, with the transition period ending in December 2025.⁵

On a first visit you also fill out a 問診票 (an intake questionnaire about your symptoms and history).

The 30% co-pay is the working-age rate, not a flat universal one

For insured people roughly aged 6 to 69, the window co-pay is 30% (3割負担). The official rate varies by age: 2割 for children up to 6 and, in principle, for ages 70 to 74; 1割 applies in principle for those 75 and over.¹³ Treat 30% as the general working-age figure, not a single rate that applies to everyone.

This section is a factual reception-and-system explainer only. It is not cost or tax advice beyond the reception step.

The Casual Variant: Telling a Friend You Feel Sick

With a friend, drop です/ます and use the plain form.² The が-subject structure stays exactly the same. Only the politeness ending changes.

Polite (to staff)	Casual (to a friend)	English
頭が痛いです2	頭が痛い2	"My head hurts."
熱があります2	熱がある2	"I have a fever."
気分が悪いです2	気分が悪い2	"I feel sick / queasy."
風邪をひいたみたいです2	風邪をひいたみたい2	"I think I've caught a cold."

頭あたまが痛いたい。²
"My head hurts." (to a friend)

風邪かぜをひいたみたい。²
"I think I've caught a cold." (to a friend)

With medical staff, stay in the polite です/ます register. The casual column is for friends only.²

Good to know

先生 is the doctor, not "teacher" here

In the clinic, address and refer to the doctor as 先生 (せんせい). The plain noun "doctor" is 医者 (いしゃ), but you do not use it to the doctor's face.

先生 is a respectful title used for doctors as well as teachers. Calling the person in front of you 医者 sounds blunt, so 先生 is the safe form of address.

Why が and not は with 痛い

The most common slip is marking the aching part with は or を instead of が. を marks the object of a transitive verb, and 痛い is not a verb. は topicalizes the part and shifts the nuance away from a neutral "X hurts."¹ The neutral first report uses が, because the part that hurts is the grammatical subject of the い-adjective 痛い.¹⁷

頭あたまが痛いたいです。¹²
"My head hurts."

飲む covers pills, not just liquids

薬を飲む is the idiom for "take medicine," even when the medicine is a tablet or a powder rather than a liquid. Daijisen defines 飲む as "to send liquid and the like down the throat," and it explicitly lists 「薬を飲む」. So the verb also extends to swallowing solid medicine.¹⁰

Point and confirm

Saying ここが痛いです while pointing, in slow and simple Japanese, often works more reliably with staff than abruptly switching to English. ここ ("here") is the subject of the same が-pain frame, so it needs no extra vocabulary. Staff will typically confirm the spot back to you.¹²

気分が悪い vs 具合が悪い

Both phrases mean "I feel unwell," but the noun differs, and so does the nuance. 気分が悪い leans toward nausea or feeling queasy (and can also mean "in a bad mood"), while 具合が悪い is the more general "out of sorts."¹ Use 気分が悪い when the complaint is specifically queasiness.

食間 means between meals, not during them

When a pharmacist says 食間に飲んでください, 食間 means on an empty stomach, about two hours after eating, not during the meal. The kanji 間 ("interval") can invite that misreading, but the pharmaceutical definition is explicit: roughly two hours after a meal, between one meal and the next.¹¹

See also

• Japanese Convenience Store Phrases: What the Clerk Says and How to Answer
• Ordering Food at a Restaurant in Japanese: Phrases for the Full Dining Flow
• Asking for Directions in Japanese: How to Ask, Understand the Answer, and Confirm
• Japanese Train Station Phrases: Buying Tickets, Reading Signs, and Decoding Announcements
• Self-Introduction in Japanese (自己紹介): はじめまして to よろしく
• Japanese Greetings: Time-of-Day, Workplace, and Seasonal Aisatsu (挨拶)

References

Footnotes

1. Makino, Seiichi, and Michio Tsutsui. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. The Japan Times, 1986. Entry: が (ga), nominative subject marker for stative predicates (adjectives of sensation, ability, and desire such as 痛い, 好き, 分かる). ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸

2. Banno, Eri, et al. Genki II: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese, 3rd ed. The Japan Times, 2020. Lesson 12 "Feeling Ill" (病気). Introduces symptom and body-part vocabulary and the patterns 〜が痛いです and 熱があります. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³

3. 総務省消防庁. 「119番緊急通報」. "119番通報は、消防車・救急車が必要な場合に行うものです。" https://www.fdma.go.jp/mission/enrichment/kyukyumusen_kinkyutuhou/119.html ↩

4. 警視庁. 「こんなときこそ110番」. 110 connects to the police 通信指令センター for crimes and accidents. https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/jiken_jiko/110/110_110.html ↩

5. 厚生労働省 保険局. 医療機関・薬局の窓口における資格確認方法等について. Insurance qualification is confirmed at 受付 by presenting a マイナ保険証 (My Number Card used as insurance), a 資格確認書, or a 資格情報のお知らせ; the paper 健康保険証 was discontinued for new issuance in 2024 with a transition period ending December 2, 2025. Presentation is required at each visit per 健康保険法施行規則第53条. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/newpage_08277.html ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. 日本調剤株式会社. 「処方箋ってなんですか？」. "「処方箋」とは、医師が患者さまの病気の治療に必要なお薬の種類や量、服用法が記載された書類です。" Filled by a 薬剤師 (pharmacist) under 医薬分業. https://www.nicho.co.jp/inquiry/929/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

7. 小学館. 『デジタル大辞泉』. Entry: 形容詞 (adjective). 痛い is an い-adjective predicate. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BD%A2%E5%AE%B9%E8%A9%9E-59185 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

8. 小学館. 『デジタル大辞泉』. Entry: する (がする), sense "そのように感じられる" used with sensation nouns. https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%B0%97%E3%81%8C%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B-471853 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

9. Makino, Seiichi, and Michio Tsutsui. A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. The Japan Times, 1986. Entry: ことがある (koto ga aru), with a non-past (dictionary-form) predicate, meaning "there are times when / it sometimes happens that." ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

10. 小学館. 『デジタル大辞泉』. Entry: 飲む, sense 1㋐ "液体などをのどへ送りこむ。「水を飲む」「薬を飲む」". https://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%A3%B2%E3%82%80-597428 ↩ ↩² ↩³

11. 中外製薬株式会社. 「食前・食間・食後について」. Defines 食前 (about 20–30 minutes before a meal), 食後 (within 20–30 minutes after a meal), and 食間 (about two hours after a meal, between meals). https://www.chugai-pharm.co.jp/ptn/medicine/use/use003.html ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

12. 小学館. 『デジタル大辞泉』. Entry: 御大事に (おだいじに), a parting expression of concern for another person's health, "どうぞ、お大事に." https://kotobank.jp/word/%E5%BE%A1%E5%A4%A7%E4%BA%8B%E3%81%AB-1720423 ↩ ↩²

13. 厚生労働省. 「窓口負担割合等のご相談窓口について」. "6歳までは2割負担、69歳までは3割負担、70歳から74歳までは原則2割負担、75歳以上は原則1割負担となっています。" https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/kenkou_iryou/iryouhoken/newpage_00008.html ↩