This week I’ve been doing medical interpreting training with my fantastic mentor, Michael.

With the help of my talented colleagues (and Google!) I’ve come up with a comprehensive list of common medical symptoms in English and Chinese. Originally it was a list of 66, but now I’ve added an extra 36 to get to 102! I’m sure this will be useful for learners and translating professionals alike.

I’ve also included the English verb forms for the convenience of non-native speakers of English. Sorry I didn’t have time to create the equivalent Chinese verbs.

Enjoy!

102 Medical Symptoms in English and Chinese

Abdominal pain: experience abdominal pain; have a stomach ache (肚痛；腹痛)

Abscess: have an abscess (脓疮) Bedwetting (nocturnal enuresis): wet the bed; experience nocturnal enuresis (遗尿) Blister: have a blister (水泡) Bloating: feel bloated (胃胀) Blood in stool (melena / hematochezia): have blood in one’s stool (便血) Blurred vision: have blurred vision; be unable to see clearly (视力模糊) Burping: burp; belch (打饱嗝) Cachexia (wasting syndrome): experience cachexia; suffer from wasting syndrome (恶病体质) Chest pain: have chest pain; feel pain in one’s chest (胸痛) Cold: have a cold (感冒) Coma: be in a coma (昏迷) Constipation: feel constipated (便秘) Coughing: cough (咳嗽) Coughing up blood: cough up blood; have haemoptysis (咳血) Convulsion: convulse; have a convulsion or spasm; experience uncontrollable shaking throughout the body (痉挛) Cramp: have a cramp; cramp up (抽筋) Cyst: have a cyst (囊肿) Dandruff: have dandruff (头皮屑) Deformity (dysmorphism): have a deformity; be deformed; have a malformation; be malformed (畸形) Dehydration: be dehydrated (脱水) Diarrhoea: have diarrhoea; have the runs [informal] (腹泻；拉肚子) Discharge: have discharge (分泌物) Distortion of sense of taste (dysgeusia): feel one’s sense of taste is distorted; experience dysgeusia (味觉障碍) Dizziness: feel dizzy; feel the room is spinning (晕眩) Double vision (diplopia): see double (重影；复视) Drowsiness: be drowsy; be sleepy (困倦) Dry mouth (xerostomia): have a dry mouth; feel one’s mouth is dry (口干舌燥) Excessive hunger (polyphagia): be excessively hungry; experience polyphagia (贪吃；食欲过盛) Excessive thirst (polydipsia): be excessively thirsty; experience polydipsia (剧渴；极渴) Fainting (syncope): faint; black out (晕倒；晕厥) Farting (flatulence): fart; have flatulence; pass wind (放屁) Fast heartbeat (tachycardia): have a fast heartbeat; experience tachycardia (心跳过速) Fatigue: be fatigued; be weary (疲劳) Fecal incontinence: suffer from fecal incontinence; be fecally incontinent (大便失禁) Fever (pyrexia): have/come down with a fever; feel feverish; experience pyrexia (发烧) Flu: have/come down with the flu (流感) Frequent urination (polyuria): urinate frequently; experience polyuria (多尿症) Hair loss: lose hair; experience hair loss (脱发) Hallucination: have/experience a hallucination; hallucinate (幻觉) Headache: have a headache (头疼) Hearing difficulties: have hearing difficulties; be hard of hearing (听觉障碍) Heart burn (pyrosis): have heart burn; experience acid indigestion (烧心；胃灼热) Hiccup: hiccup (打嗝) High blood pressure (hypertension): have high blood pressure; have hypertension (高血压) Hyperventilation: hyperventilate (换气过度) Hypoventilation (respiratory depression): hypoventilate (换气过低) Inability to smell (anosmia): be unable to smell; experience anosmia (嗅觉缺失) Inability to speak (aphasia): be unable to speak; experience aphasia (失语) Inability to urinate (urinary retention): be unable to urinate; be unable to pass water (尿潴留) Inability to write (dysgraphia): be unable to write; have handwriting difficulties; experience dysgraphia (书写障碍) Indigestion: have indigestion (消化不良) Inflammation: be inflamed (发炎) Ingrown hair: have an ingrown hair (毛发内生) Infertility: be infertile; experience infertility (不孕) Insomnia: have insomnia; have trouble sleeping; can’t get to sleep [informal] (失眠) Itchiness: itch; be itchy (发痒) Lack of muscle coordination (ataxia): be unable to coordinate one’s muscles (运动失调) Loss of appetite: lose one’s appetite (食欲不振) Low blood pressure (hypotension): have low blood pressure; have hypotension (低血压) Malaise: be in a malaise; be uncomfortable; feel unwell (不适；不舒服) Migraine: have a migraine (偏头痛) Muscle weakness (myasthenia): feel one’s muscles are weak; experience myasthenia (肌无力) Nausea: feel nauseated; feel sick [informal] (恶心) Nosebleed (epistaxis): have a nosebleed; bleed from the nose (流鼻血) Numbness: feel numb; be numb (麻木) Pain: be in pain; feel painful; have aches and pains (疼痛) Pain during sex (dyspareunia): feel pain during sex; suffer from dyspareunia (性交疼痛；功能性交媾困难) Palpitation: have palpitations; feel one’s heart skip a beat (心悸) Paralysis: be paralysed (瘫痪) Pelvic pain: feel pain in one’s pelvis; experience pelvic pain (盆腔痛) Pimples: have pimples; break out [informal] (粉刺；丘疹；青春痘) Pins and needles: feel pins & needles; my x is asleep [informal] (针刺感) Rash: have a rash; break out in a rash: (红疹) Runny nose: have a runny nose; one’s nose is running: (流鼻涕) Seizure: have a seizure; have a fit; have an epileptic episode: (突然发作) Shakes: shake; tremble (发抖；哆嗦) Shivers (rigors): shiver; shudder; have chills/rigors; feel cold (颤抖) Shortness of breath (dyspnea): be short of breath (气短；喘不上气来) Skin irritation: have a skin irritation problem (皮肤瘙痒) Slow heartbeat (bradycardia): have a slow heartbeat; experience bradycardia (心动过缓) Sneezing: sneeze (打喷嚏) Snoring: snore (打鼾；打呼噜) Soreness: feel sore; ache (酸痛) Stomach ache (dyspepsia): have a stomach ache; upset stomach (胃痛) Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia): have difficulty swallowing (吞咽困难) Sweat: sweat; be sweaty (出汗；盗汗) Swelling: swell up; be swollen (肿胀) Tinnitus: have tinnitus; feel one’s ears are ringing (耳鸣) Tiredness: be tired (累) Tumour: have a tumour (肿瘤) Twitching: have a twitch; have a tic (抽动；抽搐) Ulcer: have an ulcer (溃疡) Urinary incontinence: suffer from urinary incontinence; be urinarily incontinent (尿失禁) Vaginismus: be unable to engage in vaginal penetration (阴道痉挛) Vision impairment: have a vision impairment; be unable to see properly (视觉障碍) Vomiting: vomit; throw up; spew (呕吐) Wart: have a wart (疣) Weakness: feel weak (微弱) Weight loss: lose weight; become thin/emaciated; waste away (减重；消瘦) Weight gain: gain weight; put on weight (体重增加) Wheezing: wheeze (喘息)

Comments re accuracy and ommissions are of course welcome!