How to Get “检查 (Jiǎnc há) Examine” at Your Hospital Visit

Going to the hospital can be unpleasant. Not knowing how to communicate your illness makes it that much worse! Make sure you know these Chinese phrases to convey your problems properly. It might just save your life.

Get familiar with the following dialogue to learn how to get diagnosed for the flu and get prepared for what could happen next. If you are deathly afraid of needles you should know how to listen for the word "打针 (dǎzhēn) have an injection." It would be convenient for the hospital staff to know this ahead of time. You wouldn’t want to pass out without warning.

Dialogue

Yīshēng: Nǐ juédé zěnyàng?
医生: 你觉得怎样？
Doctor: How are you feeling?

Bob: Wǒ liú bítì, tóuyūn.
Bob: 我流鼻涕，头晕。
Bob: I’ve got a runny nose and I feel dizzy.

Yīshēng: Nǐ zhèyàng duōjiǔ le?
医生: 你这样多久了？
Doctor: How long have you been like this?

Bob: Dàgài yǒu sān tiān le.
Bob: 大概有三天了。
Bob: Maybe for three days.

Yīshēng: Nǐ dùzi tòng ma?
医生: 你肚子痛吗？
Doctor: Do you have a stomachache?

Bob: Ǒu'ěr huì tòng.
Bob: 偶尔会痛。
Bob: It occasionally hurts.

Yīshēng: Nǐ shì dé le liúgǎn, nǐ děi dǎzhēn.
医生: 你是得了流感，你得打针。
Doctor: You’ve got the flu. You need a shot.

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In English we have a saying, "Get off your high horse!" It means someone is being prideful and we want them to take their pride down a notch, or just act more humble. The cool thing is that in Chinese we have a similar phrase, although it has a few different meanings from the one in English.

1. The characters put together are now used today to signify:

下马 (Xiàmǎ): action, get down from a horse; dismount from a horse.

When you use this phrase in a sentence, the sentence structure will look like this:

Sentence Structure: V. + 下马 (Xiàmǎ)

Example:

Tā cóng lìng yì biān tiào xià mǎ.
他从另一边跳下马。
He sprang down onto the other side.

This phrase has a literal meaning, to actually dismount from a horse. You can use it when describing this action in daily life.

2. This phrase also has another idiomatic meaning: 下马 (Xiàmǎ): discontinue, used to describe a major project or work item.

This is often used in daily life when describing... Read More

Quiz:
1. What does "下马 (Xiàmǎ)" in "项目下马 (Xiàngmù xiàmǎ)" mean in Chinese?