Telling doctor stomach hurts: Understanding your treatment and how to take your medicine

💬 The word reads like a list: 肠 (cháng) "intestine" + 胃 (wèi) "stomach" + 炎 (yán) "inflammation". 炎 ends many illness names, as in 肺炎 "pneumonia".

💬 开 usually means "open", but with 药 (yào) "medicine" it means to prescribe. 点 is short for 一点 "a little, some".

💬 给你 comes before the verb and marks who benefits from the action. For example, 我给你打电话 means "I'll call you".

🇨🇳 In Chinese hospitals you usually take the prescription slip to pay at a cashier window first, then collect the medicine at the hospital pharmacy.

💬 Chinese "eats" medicine with 吃 (chī), even for pills, where English would say "take." For liquid medicine you'd use 喝 (hē) "drink" instead.

💬 The time period comes first, then how many times. Swap the pieces to make new ones: 一天两次 "twice a day". 一 is read (yì) here because the word after it isn't a falling tone.

💬 When counting things, "two" is 两 (liǎng), not 二. 片 (piàn) is the counting word for flat tablets. 一 before the falling tone of 次 becomes (yí).

💬 后 after a word means "after," and 前 (qián) means "before." So 饭前吃 is "take before meals." You'll see both printed on Chinese medicine labels.

🇨🇳 先 here suggests the doctor will decide what's next after the three days. This is a common way Chinese doctors prescribe: a short course first, then a check-up.

💬 别 (bié) before a verb means "don't". Adding 的 after an adjective turns it into "food or things of that kind", as in 凉的 "cold stuff".

🇨🇳 Chinese doctors very often give diet advice like avoiding spicy, cold or greasy food. Expect to hear it with almost any stomach complaint.

💬 别 (bié) before a verb means "don't." Adding 的 after a describing word turns it into "the ... kind": 辣的 "spicy stuff", 冷的 "cold stuff".

💬 住 (zhù) after 记 (jì) means the memory has "stuck." It's "I've memorized it," not just "I'm remembering."

💬 Ending with 呢 (ne) turns a situation into a "what if…?" question. Try 如果没用呢？ "What if it doesn't work?"

💬 There's no word for "if" here. Chinese often leaves it out, and the "if" meaning comes from the follow-up part starting with 就 (jiù) "then".

💬 Saying a verb twice, like 看看, makes it sound light and casual, like "have a look." 再 (zài) means "again" for something that hasn't happened yet.

🇨🇳 In China you usually register again and pay a new consultation fee for a return visit. Keep your receipt and medical booklet, because the doctor will want to see what was prescribed.

🇨🇳 This is the classic Chinese advice for almost any illness, from doctors, friends, and family alike. Hot water is believed to be better for digestion than cold. It's so common that it's become a running joke online as the default thing to say to anyone sick.

🇨🇳 慢走 literally means "walk slowly". Hosts, shopkeepers and doctors say it to people as they leave, so you don't need to reply beyond a nod or 谢谢.