Talking about Health *Vlog fully in Japanese with English subs*

Today we’ll learn how to talk about health in Japanese!

First, how do you say “health” / “healthy” in Japanese?

 

 

健康
kenkou
= health

健康的な
kenkou-teki-na
=  healthy

体にいい
karada ni ii
= good for you (lit. good for body) / healthful

 

 

E.g

健康第一だよ！
kenkou dai-ichi da yo
= Nothing is more important than your health!

 

健康的な食事
kenkou-teki-na shoku-ji
= healthy diet

 

健康的ですね。
kenkou-teki desu ne
= You are in shape.  / You are healthy.

 

野菜は体にいいです。
yasai wa karada ni ii desu
= Vegetables are good for you.

 

 

Next! You’ve probably heard of these phrases :

「元気ですか。」
genki desu ka (form.)

「元気？」
genki ? (inf.)

as “How are you?”, but it actually means
“Are you energetic? / Are you doing alright?“.

 

 

So what about when you want to express that
you are not feeling well?

In textbooks you will learn

「病気です。」
byouki desu
= I’m sick

病気 (byouki) = “illness” / “sickness” / “disease”.

E.g

 

 

病気を治す
byouki wo naosu
= to cure a disease

 

病気を治したいから、毎日嫌いな野菜も食べています。
byouki wo naoshi-tai kara, mainichi kirai-na yasai mo tabete-imasu
= I eat vegetables that I don’t like everyday because I want to cure my disease / illness.

 

病気が治る
byouki ga naoru
= one’s illness gets cured

おばあさんの病気が治るといいね…
obaasan no byouki ga naoru to ii ne

= I hope your grandma’s illness can get cured.

 

アメリカのコロンビア大学が「生まれた月によってかかりやすい病気がわかった」と発表した。
amerika no koronbia daigaku ga “Umareta tsuki niyotte kakari-yasui BYOUKI ga wakatta” to happyou shita.
= Columbia University in the US announced that they found out
what diseases are easier to contract depending on your birth month.

 

***
Be careful, because 病気 (byouki) written in Katakana like ビョーキ,
can be a slang term for “sick” as in crazy.

E.g

あいつビョーキだよ
aitsu byooki da yo
= That guy is sick. (a sicko)

*あいつ is a rude way to refer to the third person 　|дﾟ) *

There is another slang term that is used mainly on the internet :

中二病　(chuuni-byou)
literally means “Middle-school 2nd Year Syndrome”
You probably went through or you may be going through this “illness” even now.
中二 (chuu-ni) stands for 中学二年生 (chuugaku ni-nen-sei)
which means “2nd year student in middle school”.
So it’s about thirtheen or fourteen years old.
A lot of people start acting like they are already adults
and know everything, they are the smartest in the class.
Or either some students watched too much anime
and believe in themselves that they secretly have a special power.

You are a normal kid but oneday a shinigami shows up in front of you and gives all the power to you…

There is an anime called
「中二病でも恋がしたい!」 (Chuu-ni-byou demo koi ga shitai!)
= Even with Eighth Grader Syndrome, I Want to Be in Love

The English title is : Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions

Watch it and you’ll know what “chu-ni-byou” is.

***

 

Anyways,  this 「病気です  (byouki desu) 」
is actually NOT very common to use among Japanese people.

Then why do textbooks teach you this?
Well, I guess because it’s easy and you get to learn the word “disease” / “illness”?
So let’s learn how to talk about health in a native way!!

 

First

体調が悪いです。
taichou ga waru-i desu
= I’m feeling unwell / I’m under the weather.

The first kanji  体   (kun-yomi : karada / on-yomi : tai) = body

調  (kun : Shira (beru)  = to research   / on : chou)
This one comes from the word  「調子」 (choushi) = condition

So 体調 (taichou) = lit. body condition = physical condition

 

体調が悪いです。 taichou ga waru-i desu
literally means “my body condition is bad”.

You can use the word 「よくない」 (=not good) instead of わるい as well.

 

The word 「調子」 (choushi) is quite useful.
「調子がいい」 choushi ga ii
can mean “to feel well” (health-wise)
and “to be on a roll” / “to be in the zone” (working well / doing sports great…)
and “to work well” (e.g computer).

E.g
たけしは今日調子がいい。
takeshi wa kyou choushi ga ii
= Takeshi is feeling well today.
/ Takeshi’s on a roll today.

 

パソコンの調子が悪い。
pasokon no choushi ga warui
= Something is wrong with my computer.

 

 

You can use ” 調子が悪いです。 (choushi ga warui desu)”
instead of “体調が悪いです。 (TAI-chou ga warui desu)” to mean “I’m not feeling well”,
but using “choushi” has a wider meaning than about the health, so
when you want to tell that it’s your body that is the matter, then use “TAICHOU”.

You can also use “具合 guai” like “調子 choushi”:

具合が悪いです。
guai ga warui desu
= I’m not feeling well.

But less common.

 

 

When calling in sick, you can for example say
(WARNING! Super Formal Business Japanese = difficult):

大変申し訳ありませんが、本日体調不良のため、お休みをいただいてもよろしいでしょうか。
taihen moushiwake arimasen ga, honjitsu taichou furyou no tame, o-yasumi wo itadaite mo yoroshii deshou ka
= I’m terribly sorry but would it be possible for me to request a day-off (because) I’m feeling unwell (today)?

 

*Here we used the word ” 不良 – furyou” which means “bad / inferior “ (form.).
(E.g  不良品 furyou-hin = defective goods)
But ” 不良 – furyou” can also refer to “gangsters / chavs”.
We also use the word ” ヤンキー   yankii“,
which comes from the English word “Yankee” but  doesn’t mean “American”.

E.g
コンビニの前に   ヤンキー or 不良  がいる。
konbini no mae ni yankii / huryou ga iru
= There are gangsters in front of the konbini (convenience store).

 

彼は元ヤンだけど、今はちゃんとした会社員。
kare wa moto-yan da kedo, ima wa chanto-shita kaisha-in.
= My boyfriend used to be a gangster (moto-yan = lit. ex-gangster)
but now he’s a proper fine office worker.

 

 

Let’s learn more vocabulary and phrases related to health and illness.

I’m feeling sick.  / I feel nauseous.

気分が悪いです。
kibun ga warui desu (form.)

気持ちが悪いです。
kimochi ga warui desu (less but form.)

気持ち悪い…
kimochi warui (coll.)

 

Be careful, ” 気持ち悪い (kimochi-warui)” can also mean “disgusting / nasty“.
E.g

わ、あの人、鼻をほじって、鼻くそを食べた！気持ち悪い！
wa, ano hito, hana wo hojitte, hana-kuso wo tabeta! Kimochi-warui
= Yikes! That man picked his nose and ate the booger! Disgusting!

 

Another way :

吐き気がします。
haki-ke ga shimasu
= I feel like throwing up.

This is a more direct way than the ones above.
” 吐く (haku)” means “to vomit”.
*With another kanji 履く means “to put on <bottoms / shoes> (e.g trousers / skirts…)”.

 

吐きそう…
haki-sou…
= I’m gonna / I’m so close to  throw(ing) up…  (inf.)

If you want a roundabout way, use

もどす  (lit. to return)

E.g

昨夜もどしてしまいました。
sakuya modoshite-shimai-mashita
= I threw up last night. (form.)

 

I got a cold.

風邪を引きました。
kaze wo hiki-mashita

I’ve got a cold.

風邪を引いています。
kaze wo hiite-imasu

For “I’ve got a flu“, use
インフルエンザにかかりました。
infuruenza ni kakari-mashita (form.)

インフルにかかった。
infuru ni kakatta (inf.)

 

I’ve got an allergy.

アレルギーがあります。
arerugii ga ari-masu

In Japan, “hay fever” is very very common and a lot of people suffer from this.
So you’ll hear the word ” 花粉症  (kafun-shou) = hay fever” a lot.

E.g

花粉症でつらい。
kafun-shou de tsurai
= I’m having a hard time because of the hay fever.

 

I have a fever.

熱があります。
netsu ga ari-masu

I’ve got a fever.

熱が出ました。
netsu ga de-mashita (form.)

熱が出ちゃった。
netsu ga de-chatta (inf.)

 

My nose is running.

鼻水が出ます。
hana-mizu ga demasu
(lit. Nose-water (=snot) comes out.)

I have a runny nose.

鼻水が止まりません。
hana-mizu ga tomari-masen
(lit. Snot doesn’t stop.)

 

My eyes are itchy.

目がかゆいです。
me ga kayui desu

 

I feel dizzy.

めまいがします。
memai ga shi-masu (form.)

めまいがする。  / くらくらする。
memai ga suru / kurakura suru (inf.)

 

I’ve got a headache.

頭痛がします。
zutsuu ga shimasu (very form.)

頭が痛いです。
atama ga itai desu (most common)

頭痛い。
atama itai (inf.)

This

～が痛い（です）。
~ ga itai (desu)
= ~ hurts. / ~ is in pain.

is very useful and can be used with any parts of the body.

E.g

目が痛いです。
me ga itai desu
= My eyes hurt.

 

お腹が痛いです。
onaka ga itai desu
= I have a stomachache.

 

足が痛いです。
ashi ga itai desu
= My legs hurt.

 

Hospital / Clinic

病院
byouin

Doctor

医者
isha

*In English, it’s common to say
“I’m going to see a doctor” rather than “I’m going to the hospital“.
But in Japanese, people tend to use

” 病院に行きます(byouin ni iki-masu)
= I’m going to the hospital / clinic“.

 

Medicine / Pill / Tablet

薬
kusuri

E.g

痛み止め
itami-dome (common)
= Painkiller

鎮痛剤
chin-tsuu-zai (form.)
= Analgesic (e.g paracetamol)

…　を　飲む
…wo nomu
= to take … (lit. to drink)

 

Get well soon.

お大事に。
o-daiji-ni

But this one can be a bit too formal.
So if you want a friendlier vibe,  use :

早くよくなるといいね。
hayaku yoku naru to ii ne
= I hope you feel better soon.

 

Last but not least!

When travelling abroad, you should always have
” 保険  (hoken) = insurance“.
I thought I’d be alright but you really never know, the insurance helped me massively several times.

E.g

健康保険に入っています。
kenkou-hoken ni haitte-imasu
= I have health insurance.
P.S

今元気な人も、元気じゃない人も、日本語の勉強、頑張ってね！
ima genki-na hito mo, genki-janai hito mo, nihon-go no benkyou, ganbatte ne!
= Good luck with your Japanese study to those who are genki (feeling fine) and those who are not genki!

またね☆ Ciao!