How to Say “I need a doctor” in Chinese
Emergencies and health · HSK 2
"I need a doctor" in Chinese is 我需要医生 (Wǒ xūyào yīshēng). In China you don't usually 'call a doctor'; you 看医生 (kàn yīshēng, literally 'see a doctor') by going to a 医院 (yīyuàn, hospital). Even minor issues default to hospitals rather than GP clinics.
Primary translation
我需要医生
Wǒ xūyào yīshēng
Traditional: 我需要醫生
Variants by register
Formal
我需要看医生
Wǒ xūyào kàn yīshēng
Casual
我要看医生
Wǒ yào kàn yīshēng
When to use it
In China you don't usually 'call a doctor'; you 看医生 (kàn yīshēng, literally 'see a doctor') by going to a 医院 (yīyuàn, hospital). Even minor issues default to hospitals rather than GP clinics. If it's urgent, say 我要看急诊 (wǒ yào kàn jízhěn; I need emergency care). The emergency number is 120 for ambulance, not 911. At a hotel front desk, 我需要医生 gets staff to either call a doctor or arrange a taxi to the nearest hospital.
Example sentences
请帮我叫医生，我不舒服。
Qǐng bāng wǒ jiào yīshēng, wǒ bù shūfu.
Please call a doctor for me, I don't feel well.
我需要看医生，附近有医院吗？
Wǒ xūyào kàn yīshēng, fùjìn yǒu yīyuàn ma?
I need to see a doctor, is there a hospital nearby?
我朋友病了，我们要去医院。
Wǒ péngyǒu bìng le, wǒmen yào qù yīyuàn.
My friend is sick, we need to go to the hospital.