Vocabulary of Health and Hospitals

Vocabulary of illness and hospitals

Vocabulary related to illness and hospitals is tested in the form of kanji readings, kanji writing, selection of the appropriate word, and synonyms. This group covers places to seek treatment, people who provide care, names of symptoms, and actions taken when seeking treatment.

Places and people who provide care:

• 病院(びょういん, hospital) — read as びょういん. 病 is read as びょう (illness) and 院 is read as いん (building or institution). The initial sound び and the final sound いん must not be changed to えん or みょう. Similar kanji such as 美容院(びよういん, beauty salon) have a different meaning. Example: 昨日、病院で友達のお見舞いをしました。
• 医者(いしゃ, doctor) — written with 医 (medicine) and 者 (person). Other kanji read as い, such as 以, 衣, or 位, do not form this word. Example: 足を怪我したので、医者に治療してもらいました。

Symptoms and physical condition:

• 熱(ねつ, fever) — read as ねつ, with the sound ね without dakuon. Used in 熱がある (to have a fever) and 熱が高い (high fever). Do not confuse it with 暑い(あつい, hot), which describes weather or air temperature. Example: 熱があるので、今日は早く寝ます。
• 頭痛(ずつう, headache) — 頭 is read as ず and 痛 is read as つう. Used in 頭痛がする (to have a headache). Example: 寝不足で頭痛がします。
• 痛い(いたい, painful/to hurt) — an adjective used with body parts: 歯が痛い (tooth hurts), おなかが痛い (stomach hurts). The word 病い(やまい, illness) is a noun and is not used to express pain. Example: 指を切ったので、少し痛いです。
• ぐあい(condition, state) — 体のぐあいが悪い means that one's physical condition is poor. 体のぐあいがよい means that one's physical condition is good. Example: 体のぐあいがよくないので、今日は休みます。
• なくなる / 消える(きえる, to disappear) — for pain, 痛みがなくなる can be replaced with 痛みが消える, meaning the pain has gone. Example: 薬を飲んだら、頭痛が消えました。

Actions when seeking treatment:

• 診察を受ける(しんさつをうける, to undergo a medical examination) — 診察(しんさつ, medical examination) pairs with 受ける at the hospital. The word 試験(しけん, exam) can also pair with 受ける, but the meaning is different. Example: 病院で血液検査を受けました。
• 診る(みる, to examine medically) — in the form 診てもらう, it means to be examined by a doctor. Distinguish it from 見る(みる, to see), 観る(みる, to watch), and 看る (to care for a sick person, 看病(かんびょう)). Example: 先生に喉を診てもらいました。
• 体を見せる(からだをみせる, to show one's body) — the patient shows the sick body part to the doctor. The form 見せる (to show) differs from 見る (to see) and 聞く (to listen). Example: 医者に腕を見せて、傷の状態を確認してもらいました。
• 測る(はかる, to measure) — used for measurements such as 体温を測る (to take body temperature) and 血圧を測る (to measure blood pressure). Example: 朝、体温を測ってから出かけます。
• 薬(くすり, medicine) — read as くすり without dakuon. A common pairing is 薬を飲む (to take medicine). Example: 食後に薬を飲んでください。

Words for missing work:

• 休む(やすむ, to be absent from work/to rest) — used for not attending the office or school due to illness, for example 会社を休む (to be absent from work). Reasons such as 熱がある explain the cause of the absence. The word 休み is a noun and is not the same as 休む as a verb. The object of 休む is not usually food (ご飯を休む), an object (傘を休む), or a transportation place (駅を休む). Example: 風邪がひどいので、明日は会社を休ませてもらいます。

Vocabulary for medicine and flu

This vocabulary group relates to medicine, fever, flu, and going to the hospital. Questions usually test kanji readings, verb collocations, and word choice that fits the context.