What To Say When You’re Sick in Japanese

Today, TODAI Japanese will guide you on how to express physical discomfort in Japanese when you're feeling unwell. Whether it's a sore throat, a headache, or stomach pain, we will cover various vocabulary and useful phrases. If you want to know more, download TODAI Japanese below:

 

 

[Describing Throat Pain]

To express throat pain, you can use sentences like:

 

1. 喉が痛い (My throat hurts).

2. You can also use the onomatopoeia “イガイガする” to convey that something is irritating your throat and feels strange.

So, "イガイガする" is combined with "喉" (throat) to describe a state of pain and irritation in your throat. It gives the image of tiny spiky balls causing discomfort in your throat.

 

Eg: 

なんかのどがイガイガする。

I feel somewhat uncomfortable in my throat.

 

[Describing Headaches]

To express headaches, you can use sentences like:
 

1. "頭が痛い" (My head hurts) (The easiest way to describe a headache)

2. "頭痛がする" (I feel a headache). 

3. "ガンガンする" (When you want to express the feeling of a pounding headache.)

Eg:

すごい頭がガンガンする。

I have a strong pounding headache.

(Be careful though, because when you use “ガンガンする”, you can’t combine it with “頭痛”. “頭痛がガンガンする” doesn’t make any sense.)

 

[Describing Stomach Pain]

You can either say the straightforward 

1. “お腹が痛い” (My stomach hurts)

2. “腹痛がする” (I have a stomachache.)

3. “キリキリする” (To make your description more vivid or specific, often used to describe stinging stomach pain.)

Eg:

Casual:

めっちゃ胃いがキリキリする。

I feel a strong stinging pain in my stomach.

A little more formal:

胃がすごくキリキリします。

I feel a strong stinging pain in my stomach.

By the way, the difference between “胃” and “お腹” is that “胃” is formal and “お腹” is casual.

 

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