Telling doctor stomach hurts: Answering the doctor's questions about your symptoms

💬 The 的 at the end shows the question is about the details of something that has already happened, here when it began. You'll hear it in many past-tense questions like 你怎麼來的？ "How did you get here?"

🇹🇼 Clinic visits in Taiwan are often just a few minutes, and this is usually one of the doctor's first questions. Have a short time answer ready.

💬 In Chinese the time comes before the verb, which is the reverse of English "started last night". Swap the time to fit your situation: 今天早上開始 "started this morning".

💬 Literally "pull belly", this is the normal everyday word for diarrhea, and it's perfectly fine to say to a doctor.

💬 In Taiwan, people often put 有 before a verb to confirm that something did happen. This is very common in symptom talk, for example 有咳嗽 "I have been coughing".

💬 想 (xiǎng) here means "feel like" or "want to", not "think". So 想吐 is literally "want to vomit", which is how you say you're nauseous.

💬 或 (huò) means "or" in a yes/no question ending in 嗎. To ask someone to choose between two options, you'd use 還是 (hái shì) instead.

💬 To say something didn't happen, use 沒有 rather than 不. 不吐 would sound like "I won't vomit".

💬 Chinese has no single word for "yes" or "no" here. You answer by repeating the verb: 有 for yes, 沒有 for no.

💬 Question words don't move to the front like they do in English. 什麼 sits where the answer will go, so you reply by just replacing it: 吃了牛肉麵 "ate beef noodles".

🇹🇼 Night market food is a famously common suspect for stomach trouble, so a Taiwanese doctor will nod knowingly if you mention it.

💬 在 plus a place goes before the verb, not after it as in English: 我在家吃飯 "I eat at home".

💬 東西 (dōng xi) literally means "east-west" but is the everyday word for "stuff" or "things". Note that the second syllable is said lightly, with no tone.

💬 應該 (yīng gāi) usually means "should", but 應該是 is how people say "it's probably" when making a guess.

💬 This is literally "eat broken the belly": the verb comes first, followed by its result. The same pattern gives 吃飽 "eat until full".

💬 開 (kāi) usually means "open", but with 藥 (yào) it means "prescribe". The same use shows up in 開收據 "write a receipt".

🇹🇼 At most Taiwanese clinics, you pick up the medicine right at the counter after the visit, usually in pre-sorted packets with instructions for each dose.

💬 多 (duō) before a verb means "do more of it": 多休息 "get more rest". The 喔 at the end softens the instruction into friendly advice.

🇹🇼 "Drink more water" is the classic Taiwanese advice for almost any illness, so expect to hear it from doctors and friends alike.