Speaking Japanese
How to describe a symptom at the pharmacy, in Japanese
If you are in the chair right now
胃が重い感じがするんですが、何かありますか。
My stomach feels heavy. Do you have anything for it?
If that gets brushed off
市販の薬は試しましたが、効きませんでした。
I've tried an over-the-counter medicine and it didn't work.
The pharmacist's next question is always how you are going to take it, so have 食後 (after meals), 食前 (before meals) and 一日三回 (three times a day) ready to hear rather than to say. 〜んですが on the end is what turns a statement about your body into a request for help.
You are standing in a pharmacy with something wrong with you and no word for it. This is not a vocabulary problem you can solve in advance, since there are too many things that can be wrong, so the way through is to stop trying to name it and describe it instead.
If you need more than one line
softest
すみません、薬を探しているんですが。
Sorry, I'm looking for something to take. The んですが hands the problem over.
neutral
お腹が痛いです。
My stomach hurts. Swap the part in: 頭 (head), 喉 (throat), 歯 (tooth), 背中 (back).
neutral
昨日から気持ち悪いです。
I've felt unwell since yesterday. 気持ち悪い covers queasy and generally awful, which is often all you can say.
firmest
どうやって飲めばいいですか。
How should I take it? Ask before you leave. It is the part you will wish you had written down.
Two things worth knowing
You do not need the name of the thing.
Describe it with a sound
Japanese leans on mimetic words for symptoms far more than English does, and a pharmacist will follow ずきずき (throbbing), ヒリヒリ (stinging), ムカムカ (queasy) faster than a careful anatomical sentence. 「頭がずきずきします」 is a complete and entirely natural answer. Reaching for these instead of vocabulary you do not have is the whole skill this situation teaches.
〜が痛いです covers most of the rest
Name the part and say it hurts: 喉が痛いです, お腹が痛いです, 頭が痛いです. When you cannot name the part, 気持ち悪いです and 熱っぽいです (I feel feverish) will carry you the rest of the way. None of this needs the word for the condition, which is the point. You are describing, not diagnosing.
What Aiko actually said
What you have to get done
- Explain what is happening without naming it directly
- Mention the actions you have tried so far
- Make sure you understand how to use the guidance given
Aiko
Hello. What can I help you with today?
You
I haven't been well lately. Around my stomach it feels heavy, somehow. Could you tell me something good to take?
Aiko
A heavy feeling in the stomach is miserable. Have you tried anything?
You
I've tried a stomach medicine a few times, but I didn't really feel any effect. So if there's something that works better, could you tell me?
Aiko
So the stomach medicine didn't do much. It may be worth trying a different type. I'd recommend this one. Take it once after meals, three times a day.
You
I'll try the one you've suggested, but could you tell me a little more precisely how to take it?
Aiko
Take this one after meals, with water. You can take it before eating if you have to, but after is best.
Now say it yourself
Reading that is not the same as producing it with someone waiting, which is the entire difficulty. You can have this exact conversation in the app: Aiko is a third of the way through, and you have three things to get done.
It is free, it takes about a minute to start, and the first attempt is allowed to be terrible.
Practise this conversation
- How to question a charge on the bill, in Japanese
- How to return something without a receipt, in Japanese
- How to get rebooked after a cancelled flight, in Japanese
- How to raise a noise problem with a neighbour, in Japanese
- How to decline an invitation politely, in Japanese
- How to say the haircut is going wrong, in Japanese
- How to tell a restaurant about a food allergy, in Japanese
- How to report a theft to the police, in Japanese
- How to describe something when you don't know the word, in Japanese
- Practise speaking Japanese