I'm Sick! (and what to say instead of "Sorry to hear that")(Elementary)

Chinese Language Convo Club

In this episode, we will discuss what to say when you're not feeling well, as well as how to respond when someone says this to you. I wish there was an equivalent to "Sorry to hear that!" which is so convenient in English, but in Chinese, the way to express empathy depends on the situation. In the case where someone is sick, you might say, "Have a good rest. Hope you feel better soon!" We will also be digging in to the grammatical usage of 了(le) and 了(Liáo) Join us to see how to use these and more. (Note: This is a beginning level dialogue with additional words/phrases for more advanced Chinese learners) Vocabulary: 生病 Shēngbìng– to become sick 感冒 Gǎnmào– to catch a cold 发烧 Fāshāo– to be running a fever 嗓子疼 Sǎngzi téng– to have a sore throat 改天Gǎitiān – another day 休息 Xiūxi– to rest 约 Yuē– to make an appointment 咳嗽Késòu – to cough 厉害Lìhài – (in this context) severe, terrible 录音 Lùyīn– to record (sound) ...起来 Qǐlái(directional complement – in this context, shows that an action or state has begun and is ongoing...) 差不多Chàbùduō – nearly, almost Dialogue: A：晚上好，我今天生病了，感冒发烧嗓子疼，所以明天我们的会得改天了， 对不起。 Wǎnshàng hǎo, wǒ jīntiān shēngbìngle, gǎnmào fāshāo sǎngzi téng, suǒyǐ míngtiān wǒmen de huì dé gǎitiānle, duìbùqǐ. Good evening, I'm sick today. I have a cold, a fever, and a sore throat, so our meeting tomorrow will have to be changed to another day, Sorry. B：没关系。那你好好休息。我们再约吧。 Méiguānxì. Nà nǐ hǎohǎo xiūxí. Wǒmen zài yuē ba. No problem. Get some rest. We'll find another time. 一个礼拜后。。。。Yīgè lǐbài hòu.... 1 week later.... A: 早上好！ 我现在已经不发烧了，可是咳嗽的厉害，我觉得明天录不了音。如果你星期五有空的话，我们可以试试看，希望我那个时候能好起来。 Zǎoshang hǎo! Wǒ xiànzài yǐjīng bù fāshāole, kěshì késòu de lìhài, wǒ juédé míngtiān lù bùliǎo yīn. Rúguǒ nǐ xīngqíwǔ yǒu kòng dehuà, wǒmen kěyǐ shì shì kàn, xīwàng wǒ nàgè shíhòu néng hǎo qǐlái. Good morning! My fever is gone now, but I still have a really bad cough. I don't think I'll be able to record tomorrow. If you're free on Friday, we can try and see. Hopefully I'm better by then. B： 早上好！星期五没问题。我早上有一点事情，不过从1：00 后都有空。你什么时候方便可以告诉我一下。 那希望你快一点好起来. Zǎoshang hǎo! Xīngqíwǔ méi wèntí. Wǒ zǎoshang yǒu yīdiǎn shìqíng, bùguò cóng 1:00 hòu dōu yǒu kòng. Nǐ shénme shíhòu fāngbiàn kěyǐ gàosù wǒ yīxià. Nà xīwàng nǐ kuài yīdiǎn hǎo qǐlái. Good morning! Friday's no problem. I have something in the morning, but after 1:00 I'm free. Whatever time is convenient for you just let me know. Hope you feel better soon. 过了几天后。。。Guòle jǐ tiān hòu... After a few days... A： 我的咳嗽好的差不多了，我们1:00 左右见。 Wǒ de késòu hǎo de chàbùduōle, wǒmen 1:00 zuǒyòu jiàn. My cough is just about gone. See you around 1:00. B： 那太好了！ - 一点钟见。 Nà tài hǎole! - Yīdiǎn zhōng jiàn. That's great! - See you at 1:00/ Supplementary Phrases: 我生病了 Wǒ shēngbìngle - I'm sick (more formal way to say this) 我病了Wǒ bìngle - I'm sick (casual way to say this) 我觉得不舒服 Wǒ juédé bú shūfú - I don't feel well 我要请一个病假 Wǒ yào qǐng yīgè bìngjià - I'm going to take a sick day (from work) 更加的正式 Gèngjiā de zhèngshì - more formal 流行感冒Liúxíng gǎnmào - the flu 就像Jiù xiàng - Just like 流行歌曲Liúxíng gēqǔ - Pop Songs 流传非常快Liúchuán fēicháng kuài - To spread very fast... 大家其实是有的时候很难区分这两种Dàjiā qíshí shì yǒu de shíhòu hěn nán qūfēn zhè liǎng zhǒng: In fact, sometimes it's hard for most people to tell the difference (between "a cold" and "the flu") 一般我们都说“感冒”Yībān wǒmen dōu shuō “gǎnmào” - Usually we all say, "a cold" 喉咙疼Hóulóng téng - Sore throat (another way to say this...bit of a tongue twister:) 完全取决于Wánquán qǔjué yú - Totally depends on.. 完全取决于你自己想怎么样说吧Wánquán qǔjué yú nǐ zìjǐ xiǎng zěnme yàng shuō ba - It totally depends on whichever way you'd like to say it 改正Gǎizhèng - to correct 他坐的姿势不好，医生建议他改正一下Tā zuò de zīshì bù hǎo, yīshēng jiànyì tā gǎizhèng yīxià - His sitting posture is not good, the doctor advised him to correct it 医生说我需要改正我的姿势Yīshēng shuō wǒ xūyào gǎizhèng wǒ de zīshì - The doctor says I need to correct my posture 我恢复健康了Wǒ huīfù jiànkāngle - I'm recovered (back to health) - used in formal situations