How to Say “I am sick” in Chinese
Emergencies and health · HSK 3
"I am sick" in Chinese is 我生病了 (wǒ shēng bìng le). 我生病了 (wǒ shēngbìng le) is the formal "I am sick". 我不舒服 (wǒ bù shūfu, "I am not comfortable") is the casual go-to for mild illness.
Primary translation
我生病了
wǒ shēng bìng le
Variants by register
Casual
我不舒服
wǒ bù shū fu
When to use it
我生病了 (wǒ shēngbìng le) is the formal "I am sick". 我不舒服 (wǒ bù shūfu, "I am not comfortable") is the casual go-to for mild illness. For specific symptoms: 发烧 (fāshāo, fever), 头疼 (tóuténg, headache), 肚子疼 (dùzi téng, stomach ache), 咳嗽 (késòu, cough). Chinese emergency ambulance is 120. Pharmacies 药店 (yàodiàn) usually have English-speaking staff in major cities; show your phone with symptoms translated.
Example sentences
我生病了，发烧。
Wǒ shēngbìng le, fāshāo.
I am sick with a fever.
我头疼，想买点药。
Wǒ tóuténg, xiǎng mǎi diǎn yào.
My head hurts, I want to buy medicine.
请叫救护车。
Qǐng jiào jiùhùchē.
Please call an ambulance.