Explaining myself to the doctor: Describing a symptom

💬 The all-purpose French greeting. Pronounce it roughly like 'bon-zhoor'.

🇫🇷 In France, saying bonjour first is almost mandatory before asking for help—even at the doctor's office.

💬 Use docteur for a medical doctor. The final '-eur' sounds a bit like 'er' in 'her'.

🇫🇷 In France, people often address medical professionals politely as Docteur + surname, or simply Bonjour docteur.

💬 A simple and natural greeting. Great first sentence to start the consultation politely.

🇫🇷 Starting with a greeting sets a respectful tone. French interactions often begin with a formal hello before the main topic.

💬 This fixed expression introduces a question. Think of it as the French way of saying 'what is it that...?'

🇫🇷 You'll hear this often in everyday life, not just at the doctor's office.

💬 Literally 'is not going'. French often uses aller ('to go') to talk about how things are.

🇫🇷 Very common in France: Ça va ? / Ça ne va pas ? Language loves checking whether things 'go' well.

💬 A standard doctor question. Literally: 'What is it that is not going well?'

🇫🇷 This sounds caring and normal, not dramatic. Doctors may also ask Qu'est-ce que vous avez ?

💬 Super useful pattern: j'ai mal + body part. Literally 'I have pain'.

🇫🇷 French usually says avoir mal ('to have pain') rather than using one single verb like 'to ache'.

💬 After avoir mal, use à + article: à la tête, au dos, au bras.

🇫🇷 Body parts in French usually take an article, where English often uses a possessive: 'the head' not 'my head'.

💬 Literally 'I have pain in the head.' This is the normal French way to say 'I have a headache.'

🇫🇷 Very common phrase. If needed, you can make it stronger: J'ai très mal à la tête.