Getting sick in a foreign country is stressful in any language. In Japan it comes with a specific script: the reception desk asks for your insurance card, a form asks where it hurts, the doctor asks short direct questions, and the pharmacy next door explains your medicine. The good news is that the whole visit runs on a small, learnable set of words — and because health care is exactly the kind of daily-life situation the JFT-Basic exists to test, studying this page does double duty for the exam and for real life.
Symptoms and body words
| Japanese | Reading | English |
|---|---|---|
| 病院 | びょういん | hospital |
| 医者 | いしゃ | doctor |
| 看護師 | かんごし | nurse |
| 受付 | うけつけ | reception desk |
| 保険証 | ほけんしょう | health insurance card |
| 薬 | くすり | medicine |
| 薬局 | やっきょく | pharmacy |
| 熱 | ねつ | fever |
| 頭 | あたま | head |
| お腹 | おなか | stomach, belly |
| のど | のど | throat |
| 歯 | は | tooth |
| 咳 | せき | cough |
| 怪我 | けが | injury |
| 風邪 | かぜ | a cold |
| 注射 | ちゅうしゃ | injection |
| 熱を測る | ねつを はかる | to take one's temperature |
| 痛い | いたい | painful, it hurts |
Phrases that do the work
| Say this | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 頭が痛いです。 あたまが いたいです。 | My head hurts. (swap 頭 for any body part) |
| 熱があります。 ねつが あります。 | I have a fever. |
| きのうから お腹が痛いです。 きのうから おなかが いたいです。 | My stomach has hurt since yesterday. |
| 気分が悪いです。 きぶんが わるいです。 | I feel sick / unwell. |
| 保険証を お願いします。 ほけんしょうを おねがいします。 | (Reception) Your insurance card, please. |
| この薬を 一日 三回 飲んでください。 このくすりを いちにち さんかい のんでください。 | Take this medicine three times a day. |
| アレルギーが あります。 アレルギーが あります。 | I have an allergy. |
| ゆっくり 話してください。 ゆっくり はなしてください。 | Please speak slowly. (your lifeline everywhere) |
At a neighbourhood clinic
Read it aloud twice — once for meaning, once for rhythm. Then cover the English and try again.
受付こんにちは。今日は どうしましたか。Hello. What brings you in today?
あなたきのうの 夜から 熱が あります。のども 痛いです。I've had a fever since last night. My throat hurts too.
受付そうですか。保険証は ありますか。I see. Do you have your insurance card?
あなたはい、これです。Yes, here it is.
受付この 紙に 名前と 住所を 書いてください。あちらで 待ってください。Please write your name and address on this form, then wait over there.
あなたわかりました。ありがとうございます。Understood. Thank you.
Signs to recognise on sight
| Sign | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 受付 | うけつけ | Reception — go here first |
| 内科 | ないか | Internal medicine — fevers, colds, stomach |
| 外科 | げか | Surgery — injuries, wounds |
| 歯科 | しか | Dentistry |
| 小児科 | しょうにか | Pediatrics |
| 診察室 | しんさつしつ | Examination room |
| お会計 | おかいけい | Payment counter |
| 休診日 | きゅうしんび | Closed day — check before you go |
Things nobody tells you
どうしましたか is the key question. Reception desks and doctors open with it ("what happened / what's wrong?"). Your answer can be as simple as [body part]が痛いです or 熱があります — nobody expects long sentences from a learner.
Bring your 保険証 every time. If you work in Japan you will have a health insurance card, and it is the first thing every clinic asks for. Without it you pay the full price instead of 30%.
Small clinics beat big hospitals for colds. For everyday illness, look for a local 内科 clinic. Large hospitals may charge an extra fee without a referral letter and involve much longer waits.
The pharmacy is a separate stop. After the clinic you usually take a prescription (処方箋・しょほうせん) to a nearby pharmacy. They will explain doses using the 一日〜回 ("times per day") pattern from the phrases above.
Check yourself
1. The doctor asks 「どうしましたか」. What are they asking?
どうしましたか literally asks "what happened?" — it is THE opening question in any clinic, and a favourite of JFT conversation questions set in hospitals.
2. You want to say your stomach has hurt since this morning: けさ＿＿ おなかが いたいです。
から marks the starting point in time: けさから = "since this morning". まで would mean the pain conveniently ends this morning.
3. Which department sign should you look for with a bad cold?
内科 (ないか, internal medicine) handles colds, fevers and stomach trouble. 外科 is surgery/injuries, 歯科 is the dentist, 小児科 is for children.
Study the grammar behind this situation
- N5 Lesson 17: ない-form — the "must take medicine" grammar (のまなければなりません)
- JFT mock set guides — hospital scenes appear across the mock sets
- JFT kanji by category — includes the health and body kanji group
More situation guides
- Japanese at the City Hall (市役所)
- Japanese at the Workplace
- Japanese at the Train Station
- Japanese for Shopping and the Konbini
- Japanese for Emergencies
Written by Rahul Kumar Singh. Published 17 July 2026. All dialogues and example sentences are original. Vocabulary readings are checked against standard dictionaries — if you spot an error, report it and I will fix it.