Reference · module 26
At the doctor
Everything this module explains, on one page.
Where it hurts
Say which part of you hurts.
- der Kopf, der Hals, der Bauch, der Rücken, das Bein, der Arm, die Hand. Seven words cover almost every complaint.
- The pattern is Mein Kopf tut weh, or with the dative Der Kopf tut mir weh. The body part is the subject and you are on the receiving end.
- The other way is Ich habe Kopfschmerzen — one compound word for each part: Bauchschmerzen, Rückenschmerzen, Halsschmerzen.
The mistake you are about to make
Der Kopf tut weh mir.
Der Kopf tut mir weh.
"My head hurts" has no second person in it, so mir has nowhere obvious to stand and drifts to the end. German puts it straight after the verb.
The appointment
Get through a doctor's visit in German.
- The first question is always Was fehlt Ihnen? — literally what is missing for you. The answer is Ich habe … or Mir tut … weh.
- The second is Seit wann? and the answer uses the present with seit: Seit drei Tagen. Not since three days ago — the present is correct here.
- Two words you will leave with: das Rezept, a prescription, and die Krankschreibung, the note that excuses you from work.
The mistake you are about to make
Ich habe seit drei Tagen Schmerzen gehabt.
Ich habe seit drei Tagen Schmerzen.
English needs a perfect — I have had pain for three days — and the German past follows it in. The pain is still there, so German keeps the present.
Staying well
Talk about habits, sport and sleep.
- Sport is treiben or machen, never doing: Ich treibe Sport, Ich mache Sport. Both are used and neither takes an article.
- regelmäßig means regularly and is the word every health conversation turns on: Ich gehe regelmäßig laufen.
The mistake you are about to make
Ich mache Sport regelmäßig.
Ich mache regelmäßig Sport.
English puts the frequency at the end — I do sport regularly. German wants it in the middle, in front of what it applies to.
In an emergency
Ask for help fast and be understood.
- 112 is the number for an ambulance and the fire brigade across the whole of Europe. 110 is the police in Germany.
- Rufen Sie einen Krankenwagen! and Ich brauche Hilfe! are the two sentences to have without thinking. Short, loud, unmistakable.
The mistake you are about to make
Rufen Sie ein Krankenwagen!
Rufen Sie einen Krankenwagen!
Under pressure the accusative is the first thing to go. Der Krankenwagen is masculine, so it is einen — and this is the one sentence worth drilling until it is automatic.