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

💬 Chinese uses 吃 "eat" for taking medicine, even pills and liquids. 怎麼 "how" plus a verb is a handy way to ask how to do something, as in 要怎麼去？ "How do I get there?"

🇹🇼 Ask this at the pharmacy counter. Pharmacists in Taiwan usually explain the dose out loud and also print the instructions on the medicine bag.

💬 Put the time span first and the count after it: 一週兩次 "twice a week". In 一天 the 一 is read (yì tiān), not (yī).

💬 Swap 後 "after" for 前 "before" to get 飯前吃 "take before meals". 睡前吃 means "take before bed".

💬 一 before a falling tone shifts to a rising tone, so 一次 is said (yí cì), not (yī cì).

💬 Putting 就好 after an amount means "that much is enough". For example, 一個就好 means "just one is fine".

🇹🇼 Taiwanese clinics usually hand out pills already sorted into small packets, one packet per dose. You just take one whole packet each time.

💬 幾 asks "how many" when the expected answer is a small number. For larger amounts you'd use 多少, as in 幾天 versus 多少錢 "how much money".

💬 先 here means "for now". It hints that the doctor will check again later, and you may be asked to come back if you don't feel better.

💬 幾 isn't a question here. After 這 it means "a few", as in 這幾個 "these few".

🇹🇼 A doctor who says 清淡 means less oil, salt, spice and fried food. Taiwanese often take this as a cue to eat plain 稀飯 "rice porridge".

💬 Putting 一點 after a describing word softens it to "a bit more ___", as in 慢一點 "a bit slower".

💬 Adding 了 to 知道 signals that you understand now, after being told. It's the natural way to acknowledge instructions.

💬 Put 多 before an action to mean "do more of it": 多休息 "rest more", 多吃水果 "eat more fruit".

🇹🇼 Doctors and pharmacists often say this as you leave. A simple 謝謝 is the natural reply.