How to Say “I feel bad” in Chinese
Feelings and opinions · HSK 2
"I feel bad" in Chinese is 我不舒服 (Wǒ bù shūfu). English 'I feel bad' is ambiguous; physical or emotional; and Chinese splits it cleanly. 我不舒服 (wǒ bù shūfu) means physically unwell and is what you say to a doctor, boss, or teacher to excuse yourself.
Primary translation
我不舒服
Wǒ bù shūfu
Variants by register
Formal
我感觉不太好
Wǒ gǎnjué bú tài hǎo
Casual
我难受
Wǒ nánshòu
When to use it
English 'I feel bad' is ambiguous; physical or emotional; and Chinese splits it cleanly. 我不舒服 (wǒ bù shūfu) means physically unwell and is what you say to a doctor, boss, or teacher to excuse yourself. 我难受 (wǒ nánshòu) is stronger and covers both physical discomfort and emotional pain, like heartbreak or grief. For guilt ('I feel bad about it'), use 我很不好意思 or 我过意不去. Note 舒服 keeps a neutral tone on 服 (fu), not fú.
Example sentences
我今天不舒服，想早点回家。
Wǒ jīntiān bù shūfu, xiǎng zǎo diǎn huí jiā.
I don't feel well today, I want to go home early.
听到这个消息，我心里很难受。
Tīng dào zhège xiāoxi, wǒ xīnlǐ hěn nánshòu.
Hearing this news, I feel awful inside.
让你等了这么久，真不好意思。
Ràng nǐ děng le zhème jiǔ, zhēn bù hǎoyìsi.
I feel bad for making you wait so long.