Explaining myself to the doctor: Giving history

💬 The all-purpose French greeting. Pronounce it roughly: bon-ZHOOR. Literally it means 'good day.'

🇫🇷 In France, always start with Bonjour before asking for help, especially with a doctor or receptionist. It sounds much more polite.

💬 Used to address a doctor directly: Bonjour, Docteur. The final -eur sounds a bit like 'er' in British 'her.'

🇫🇷 In medical settings in France, using Docteur is respectful and common, especially at the start of the consultation.

💬 A very common French question starter. It sounds natural in spoken French and is less word-for-word than English.

🇫🇷 Doctors often use this gentle, open-ended phrase to let you explain symptoms in your own words.

💬 Vous is the polite/formal 'you.' In medical French, vous is the default. Amène comes from amener, 'to bring.'

🇫🇷 French doctors almost always use vous with adult patients, even if they are friendly.

💬 Aujourd'hui means 'today.' Fun fact: it originally contains the idea of 'the day of today'—very French!

🇫🇷 Doctors often ask questions in small chunks, so hearing just Aujourd'hui ? at the end is very normal.

💬 This is a standard doctor's opening question. Learn it as one whole chunk for easy listening.

🇫🇷 This is one of the most common first questions in a French medical consultation.

💬 Short for je ai, contracted to j'ai. French loves contractions to keep speech smooth.

🇫🇷 Very useful in appointments: J'ai mal..., J'ai de la fièvre..., J'ai mal depuis hier...

💬 Mal often means 'badly' or 'pain.' In J'ai mal, it means 'I am in pain.'

🇫🇷 French often expresses pain with avoir: literally 'to have pain,' not 'to be painful.'

💬 Ventre means 'belly/stomach area.' Au = à + le. Very natural for general abdominal pain.

🇫🇷 French speakers often say ventre for broad stomach/abdominal discomfort, not necessarily the medical organ exactly.