HSK6 – Medical and Body Words

Here is something that surprises many visitors to Taiwan: go to a neighborhood clinic with a plain cold, and there is a good chance the doctor will hand you a bag of pills that includes antibiotics (抗生素, kàngshēngsù). Even more surprising, the bag often holds only about three days’ worth, while a full course that really wipes out the bacteria (細菌细菌, xìjūn) can take around seven days.

Then comes a very Taiwanese habit: after two days you feel better, so you stop. “I’m fine now, why keep taking medicine?” The bacteria that survive are the toughest ones, and they learn to fight back. This is how 超級細菌超级细菌 (chāojí xìjūn, “superbugs”) are born, and many people in Taiwan are quietly helping to raise them. In one Taiwanese survey, about 30% of people admitted to bad habits like taking antibiotics on their own or stopping as soon as their symptoms improved.

This is not just a theory. Researchers from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and Taipei Veterans General Hospital recently reported finding, for the first time in Taiwan, a drug-resistant bacterium with a new mutation in two hospital patients, which could weaken many common antibiotics (read the news report in Chinese).

At the clinic

Medical and Health Words in Chinese

Putting it all together

Examples

孩子háizi發燒fāshāo了le，我wǒ帶dài他tā去qù小兒科xiǎo’érkē看kàn醫生yīshēng孩子háizi发烧fāshāo了le，我wǒ带dài他tā去qù儿科érkē看kàn医生yīshēngThe child has a fever, so I took him to the pediatrics clinic to see a doctor.

這種zhè zhǒng病毒bìngdú會huì引起yǐnqǐ肺炎fèiyán，患者huànzhě常常chángcháng會huì發燒fāshāo，這zhè是shì常見chángjiàn的de症狀zhèngzhuàng这种zhè zhǒng病毒bìngdú会huì引起yǐnqǐ肺炎fèiyán，患者huànzhě常常chángcháng会huì发烧fāshāo，这zhè是shì常见chángjiàn的de症状zhèngzhuàngThis virus can cause pneumonia, and patients often have a fever, which is a common symptom.

Head to toe

Body Part Words in Chinese

Putting it all together

Examples

他的tā de血壓xuèyā很高hěn gāo，醫生yīshēng說shuō要yào注意zhùyì心臟xīnzàng他的tā de血压xuèyā很高hěn gāo，医生yīshēng说shuō要yào注意zhùyì心脏xīnzàngHis blood pressure is high, and the doctor said he should take care of his heart.

運動yùndòng以前yǐqián要yào先xiān活動huódòng脖子bózi、肩膀jiānbǎng和hé手臂shǒubì运动yùndòng以前yǐqián要yào先xiān活动huódòng脖子bózi、肩膀jiānbǎng和hé手臂shǒubìBefore exercising, you should first warm up your neck, shoulders and arms.

Test yourself

Vocabulary Quiz