🤒 Talking About Health and Illness – Intermediate Level (TOPIK 3–4)

Talking About Health and Illness in Korean | Intermediate Korean (TOPIK 3–4)

Need to describe your symptoms in Korean?
This guide teaches key Korean health vocabulary, useful expressions for doctor visits, and cultural tips for polite communication about illness. Perfect for intermediate learners who want to handle real-life situations in Korea confidently.

🩺 Essential Health Vocabulary

감기 (gam-gi) – cold
열 (yeol) – fever
두통 (du-tong) – headache
복통 (bok-tong) – stomachache
병원 (byeong-won) – hospital/clinic
약 (yak) – medicine
의사 (ui-sa) – doctor
아프다 (a-peu-da) – to be sick/hurt

📝 Key Grammar and Expressions

When talking about health in Korean, you often use:

-이/가 아파요: [body part] hurts
머리가 아파요 – Meo-ri-ga a-pa-yo – My head hurts.
-이/가 있어요: I have (symptom)
열이 있어요 – Yeol-i it-seo-yo – I have a fever.
-았/었어요 for past symptoms
어제 많이 아팠어요 – Eo-je ma-ni a-pat-seo-yo – I was very sick yesterday.

💬 Example Sentences About Illness

저는 감기에 걸렸어요 – Jeo-neun gam-gi-e geol-ryeo-sseo-yo – I caught a cold.
배가 아파서 병원에 가고 싶어요 – Bae-ga a-pa-seo byeong-won-e ga-go si-peo-yo – My stomach hurts, so I want to go to the hospital.
어제 두통이 심했어요 – Eo-je du-tong-i sim-haet-seo-yo – I had a severe headache yesterday.
열이 있어서 학교에 못 갔어요 – Yeol-i it-seo-seo hak-gyo-e mot gat-seo-yo – I couldn’t go to school because I had a fever.

💡 Note: Notice how “아파요” is used for body parts and “있어요” is used for symptoms like fever. Try: Make a sentence saying you have a headache and want to buy medicine.

🗣 Practice Dialogue: Visiting a Clinic

A: 어디가 아프세요? – Eo-di-ga a-peu-se-yo? – Where does it hurt?
B: 배가 아파요. – Bae-ga a-pa-yo. – My stomach hurts.
A: 열도 있으세요? – Yeol-do i-sseu-se-yo? – Do you also have a fever?
B: 네, 조금 있어요. – Ne, jo-geum it-seo-yo. – Yes, a little.

🧩 Quick Check: Which question word is used to ask “where” in Korean? Can you replace “배” (stomach) with “머리” (head) to describe a headache?

🌏 Did You Know? Korean Health Culture

In Korea, many clinics (병원) are specialized, such as 내과 (internal medicine) or 치과 (dentist). Pharmacies (약국) are also easy to find, often marked with a green cross. Koreans frequently use herbal remedies alongside modern medicine, and visiting the doctor is affordable compared to many countries.

📦 Final Thoughts

Being able to describe health issues in Korean helps you stay safe and confident during travel or daily life in Korea. Practice these phrases and vocabulary, and you’ll find it much easier to communicate with doctors and pharmacists.

I hope that while reading various posts on my blog, you’ll learn Korean and grow to love Korea. As a Korean, I sincerely wish for that. Please come back anytime to discover new expressions and cultural insights!

🎓 Want to practice real-life health conversations in Korean? Book a 1:1 Korean class on italki and prepare for real situations like doctor visits or describing symptoms!

💬 Stay connected for new updates: