How to Say “I have chest pain” in Chinese
Emergencies and health · HSK 4
"I have chest pain" in Chinese is 我胸口疼 (Wǒ xiōng kǒu téng). 胸口 (xiōng kǒu) literally means 'chest mouth' and refers specifically to the center of the chest; exactly where you'd point if describing cardiac symptoms. It's the natural word to use with an ER doctor.
Primary translation
我胸口疼
Wǒ xiōng kǒu téng
Variants by register
Formal
我胸部疼痛
Wǒ xiōng bù téng tòng
When to use it
胸口 (xiōng kǒu) literally means 'chest mouth' and refers specifically to the center of the chest; exactly where you'd point if describing cardiac symptoms. It's the natural word to use with an ER doctor. 胸部 (xiōng bù) is more clinical and covers the whole chest region. Northerners often use 疼 (téng) for pain, while southerners and formal writing lean toward 痛 (tòng); both are correct. If the pain is severe, add 很 (very) or 特别 (especially): 我胸口特别疼. At a Chinese ER (急诊 jí zhěn), saying 胸口疼 will get you triaged immediately; cardiac symptoms are taken very seriously.
Example sentences
医生，我胸口疼，而且喘不上气。
Yī shēng, wǒ xiōng kǒu téng, ér qiě chuǎn bú shàng qì.
Doctor, my chest hurts, and I can't catch my breath.
从什么时候开始疼的？是一直疼还是一阵一阵的？
Cóng shén me shí hòu kāi shǐ téng de? Shì yì zhí téng hái shì yí zhèn yí zhèn de?
When did the pain start? Is it constant or does it come in waves?
先做个心电图，别紧张。
Xiān zuò gè xīn diàn tú, bié jǐn zhāng.
Let's do an EKG first; don't be nervous.